Leaflets depicting anti-Armenian sentiment were found near an Armenian church in Glendale on Friday morning. The city’s mayor, Ardy Kassakhian, called the postings “ruthless and intolerable”.
The leaflets, found taped to light poles near St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church, contained messages denying the Armenian Genocide but claiming that Israel “fully supports” its completion. They pointed to Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which has turned into a humanitarian crisis.
The region is mainly populated by ethnic Armenians but is within Azerbaijan; Critics say the blockade has cut off the nation’s access to food and medicine.
Anti-Armenian leaflets were found near St Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale.
(Glendale Public Relations Office)
“[We] You will continue to witness the efforts of hate groups that continue to promote the horrific genocide here in the city of Glendale, home to one of the largest Armenian communities in the United States,” Kassakhian said in a statement.
Kassakhian claimed that those responsible for putting up the signs were “undoubtedly emboldened” by Turkey’s continued denial of the Armenian Genocide and by the blockade in Azerbaijan.
California Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) called the posters “disgusting.”
“Let’s be clear that we will not allow these hateful racists to sow discord between the Jewish and Armenian communities,” Friedman said on Twitter.
The Armenian Genocide resulted in the deaths of an estimated 700,000 to 1.2 million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.
It was not recognized by the United States until 2021 under President Biden.
The Glendale Police Department is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime against the Armenian church and community, the agency said in a statement.
The incident came several months after anti-Armenian leaflets were found taped to poles in Beverly Hills, KTLA reported.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-01/anti-armenian-fliers-posted-near-armenian-church-glendale