MEDIA ADVISORY
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America
3325 North Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91504
Contact: Diana Buckhantz, Jewish World Watch, 323-934-0443
Mihran Toumajan, Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North
America, 323-497-1606
Date: May 12, 2008
ARMENIAN COMMUNITY HONORS JEWISH WORLD WATCH
Once Again, Armenian and Jewish Communities Come Together to Recognize
Kinship of Suffering
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOS ANGELES, CA – Last year, in an historic demonstration of support by
a Jewish organization, Jewish World Watch hosted a Jewish Armenian
Shabbat Dinner and Service to observe the 92nd anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. The goal of the event was to bring the two
communities together in recognition of their mutual experience of
genocide, and, in doing so, have the Jewish community acknowledge and
commemorate the heretofore unacknowledged genocide of the Armenian
people in 1915. It was the first time the Armenian and Jewish
communities had blended their two cultures to commemorate the Armenian
Genocide.
On Thursday evening, May 15, 2008 the two communities will come together
again when the Burbank-based Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of
North America honors Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis, Founder of Jewish World
Watch. Specifically, the two communities will join hand-in-hand to
recognize their kinship of suffering and comfort.
-Humanity is subject to genocide and amnesia is dangerous,- said Rabbi
Harold M. Schulweis, Founder, Jewish World Watch. -If you forget or deny
the first genocide of the 20th Century, you waste the experience of the
past. Our experience with the Jewish Holocaust makes it a matter of
conscience for the Jewish people to respond and recognize the grief and
anguish of others. It is incumbent upon us to stand up and recognize the
Armenian genocide of 1915.-
WHO:
Rabbi Harold S. Schulweis, Founder, Jewish World Watch
His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, Western Diocese of
the Armenian Church of North America
Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug, Executive Director, Jewish World Watch
St. Peter Armenian Apostolic Church Choir
Valley Beth Shalom Choir
Traditional Armenian and Israeli dancing by the Vartan & Siranoush
Gevorkian Dance Ensemble and the Keshet Chaim Dance Ensemble
WHEN: Thursday, May 15, 2008
6:30 PM Press Availability, 7:30 PM Event
WHERE:
Sima & Nazareth Kalaydjian Hall
Arshag & Eleanor Dickranian Complex
Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America
3325 North Glenoaks Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91504
WHY: This event embodies the commitment of these two communities to
acknowledge and commemorate past genocides, and the Armenian genocide,
in particular, which has been denied by successive Turkish governments
for nearly a century.
Jewish World Watch is a coalition of almost 60 synagogues working
together to mobilize synagogues, their schools, members, and the
community to combat genocide and other egregious violations of human
rights around the world. In response to the 400,000 civilians that have
been murdered and the nearly 2.5 million people who have been displaced
in the Sudan, Jewish World Watch chose Darfur as its first advocacy
campaign. Since its inception, these synagogues have actively mobilized
to stop the genocide in Darfur, and have allocated more than $600,000 in
direct assistance to the people in Darfur.
Established in 1927, the Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic
Church of North America, based in Burbank, California spans the Western
United States, including Hawaii and Alaska. With the faithful of the
Western Diocese constantly growing and establishing new communities, the
Diocese is ever expanding its parishes and the scope of its various
missions.