ISRAEL’S NEW AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S. CALLS ARMENIAN KILLINGS "GENOCIDE"

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
23.06.2009 11:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Israel’s new Ambassador to the United States,
Michael B. Oren is a firm believer in the veracity of the Armenian
Genocide, despite his government’s denialist position on this issue,
Harut Sassounian, The California Courier Publisher writes.

Prior to his ambassadorial appointment, Oren repeatedly confirmed
the facts of the Armenian Genocide in his writings. In the May 10,
2007 issue of the New York Review of Books, he wrote a highly positive
review of Taner Akcam’s book: "A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide
and the Question of Turkish Responsibility." The review was titled:
"The Mass Murder They Still Deny."

In his most recent book, "Power, Faith and Fantasy," Oren made
dozens of references to Armenia and Armenians, including lengthy
heart-wrenching descriptions of the mass killings before and during
the Armenian Genocide. Here are some of the most striking quotations
from his book: "The buildup of Ottoman oppression and Armenian anger
erupted finally in the spring of 1894, when Turkish troops set out
to crush a local rebellion, but then went on to raze entire villages
and slaughter all of their inhabitants…. Some 200,000 Armenians
died — 20 percent of the population — and a million homes were
ransacked. ‘Armenian holocaust,’ cried a New York Times headline in
September 1895, employing the word that would later become synonymous
with genocide."

While it is true that Michael Oren published this book before his
assignment as Ambassador to Washington, his compelling position on
the Armenian Genocide would hopefully make him refrain from following
the footsteps of his predecessors who shamefully lobbied against the
congressional resolution on this issue, Mr. Sassounian writes.

The appointment of a staunch supporter of the truth of the Armenian
Genocide as Israel’s Ambassador to Washington comes on the heels
of a serious rift between Turkey and Israel following the Gaza war
earlier this year. On that occasion, there were major manifestations
of anti-Semitic statements and acts throughout Turkey, including
anti-Israeli remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Rejeb Erdogan. His
insulting words to Israel’s President Shimon Peres in Davos,
Switzerland, antagonized Israelis and Jews worldwide. Even though
Israel downplayed Erdogan’s offensive words, they did a lasting damage
to Israeli-Turkish relations.

The combination of an Israeli government that is less sympathetic
of Turkey and the presence of Israel’s Ambassador in Washington
who is a firm believer in the facts of the Armenian Genocide may
facilitate the passage of the pending congressional 252 resolution
on the Armenian Genocide.