ARMENIANS PLAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION RALLY
The Jewish Journal of greater L.A, CA
Nov 2 2007
The L.A. area’s large Armenian community plans to participate Nov. 4
in a nationwide rally calling upon Congress to pass a resolution
recognizing the genocide of up to 1.5 million Armenians at the hands
of Ottoman Turks.
A resolution introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) had been
working its way through a House committee when it was tabled last
month amid threats from the Turkish government that passage could
strain relations between the two countries, potentially even pushing
Turkey to prohibit access to a U.S. air base there.
"The reason Turkey makes threats against our country is quite simple,"
Caspar Jivalagian, chairman of the Armenian Youth Federation, said in
a statement. "They are an inconsistent ally and surely not a friend
of ours."
The genocide resolution has been of particular interest to American
Jews. Israel also considers Turkey one of its few friendly neighbors,
and Turkish Jews have opposed the resolution. But historians’ claims
that the slaughtering of Armenians was a case study for Hitler has
led many — including the Anti-Defamation League, which long tried
to stay out of the discussion — to deem the actions genocide. Rabbi
Harold M. Schulweis, founder of Jewish World Watch, has repeatedly
called upon Jews to push for the recognition by the U.S. government.
Rally 106: United Voices for the Armenian Genocide Resolution will be
held in Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington,
D.C. The local rally will begin at 3 p.m. near Hollywood Boulevard
and Alexandria Avenue.
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