Boston Globe, MA
Dec 2 2007
Town weighs break with ADL program
By Laura M. Colarusso
Globe Correspondent / December 2, 2007
Needham officials are facing a decision on whether to remain in the
Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate program, or leave over the
ADL’s refusal to refine its stance that the atrocities committed by
the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians are "tantamount to
genocide."
more stories like thisThe Needham Human Rights Committee has
recommended to the Board of Selectmen that the town suspend its ties
to the program, which supports efforts to combat racism and bigotry.
The committee had wanted the ADL to clarify its position by dropping
the word "tantamount" during its national commission meeting last
month.
The vote on the fate of No Place for Hate in Needham could come as
early as Tuesday, said Gerald Wasserman, chairman of the Board of
Selectmen. Several other municipalities, including Newton and
Watertown, have withdrawn from the program over the ADL’s position.
Myrna Shinbaum, a spokeswoman for the national ADL, said the
organization "has nothing more to say" about its perspective on the
Armenian genocide, except that leaving the No Place For Hate program
"would be an injustice" for Needham.
"We hope the selectmen will reject the recommendation of the Human
Rights Committee," Shinbaum said in a written statement. "ADL
provides a wealth of expertise in fighting hate and promoting
diversity," she said, and the No Place for Hate program "has proven
to be an important resource for the people of Needham."
Several members of the Board of Selectmen expressed concern that the
ADL has not acquiesced to calls for changing its stance. Selectman
John Cogswell said he would support the Human Rights Committee’s
recommendation "until such time as the ADL changes their position."
Selectman John Bulian praised the committee for its "slow and
measured approach" to the issue.
"Yes, we hang on words, but words are important," Bulian said. "There
is no question that a genocide occurred. . . . I just think that we
have to be open to elements of tragedies that have occurred in
history and recognize them for what they are."
The antibias program, which has provided funding for tolerance and
diversity education in roughly 60 communities statewide, has been
surrounded by controversy since August, when the ADL fired its top
New England executive, Andrew Tarsy, for going beyond the national
group’s position in recognizing the Armenian genocide. He has since
been reinstated.
Needham’s Human Rights Committee sent a letter in September to the
ADL, asking that it reconsider its position and support legislation
labeling as genocide the mass killings of more than 1 million
Armenians between 1915 and 1923. When the ADL decided not to take
further action, members voted 6-1 to recommend the town distance
itself from the No Place for Hate program, said Debbie Watters,
committee chairwoman.
The ADL has recognized the genocide and is allowing its officials to
use that term, according to Michael Sheetz, a Needham resident and a
20-year member of the ADL.
There is no ambiguity in the organization’s policy toward the
Armenians, said Sheetz, who has represented the ADL before the town’s
Human Rights Committee.
"How can you throw out all the good that’s been done just because you
disagree with the wording of a press release?" Sheetz asked. "It’s
semantics over substance."