Foxman Archives

After Years of Denial, Foxman Recognizes Genocide

May 24, 2014 by administrator

BY LAURA BOGHOSIAN

BOSTON—After years of equivocation, Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham Foxman has publicly acknowledged that the Turkish massacres of the Armenian people constituted genocide.

This recognition comes after a seven-year campaign in which the Armenian and Jewish communities, as well as human rights activists and local officials, demanded that the ADL affirm this historical truth.

In remarks delivered at Suffolk University Law School’s commencement on May 17, Foxman stated, “Had there been people of courage to act in 1915 when the Armenian genocide was taking place, had there been international intervention when massacres in Cambodia, Bosnia, and the genocide in Rwanda were happening, innocent lives in great numbers could have been saved.”

The announcement that Foxman would deliver the keynote address and receive an honorary degree unleashed widespread criticism that the university planned to honor a man who refused to issue a clear statement on the Armenian Genocide and who actively lobbied against its recognition.

Groups including the Suffolk chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Suffolk student organizations, the Armenian Bar Association, Suffolk alumni, and others called on Suffolk to rescind its invitation. When Suffolk refused, several faculty members carried small Armenian flags in silent protest onto the stage where Foxman spoke.

Foxman’s Suffolk remarks stand in contrast to the ADL’s 2007 statement that the “consequences” of the Turkish government’s actions were “tantamount to genocide.” The Armenian community and its supporters rejected that statement as its qualifiers circumvented the intent required by the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.

An ADL statement one year later that alleged it had “referred to those massacres and atrocities as genocide” was likewise rebuffed as it only “referred” to the unacceptable 2007 statement. Recent claims by Foxman and the ADL that this 2008 release clearly and unequivocally acknowledged the Armenian Genocide are false.

Since that time, human rights activists have continued to press the ADL for an unequivocal acknowledgement, as well as an end to its lobbying for the Turkish government to prevent passage of a Congressional Resolution affirming the Armenian Genocide.

“Abe Foxman’s reference to the Armenian massacres as genocide, without any qualifiers, is a welcome change,” stated Herman Purutyan, Massachusetts chair of the Armenian Assembly of America. “Even though Foxman continues to assert that he had previously acknowledged the genocide, the basis for his claims are a chain of statements, at the root of which is the 2007 statement full of qualifications, intended to obfuscate the question. We expect that Foxman’s statement at Suffolk is not only his personal view, but that it also reflects ADL’s official position. ADL should confirm this by publishing an unequivocal statement on its website, and joining in the efforts to have the U. S. Congress recognize the Armenian Genocide by passing the resolution currently before it.”

Foxman’s remarks reflected growing support by Jewish organizations for recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In March, ADL New England Regional Director Robert Trestan was quoted stating that the ADL “now fully recognizes the Armenian genocide without reservation.”

The following month, the American Jewish Committee issued a release that read, “We pause in mournful tribute to the memories of the estimated 1.5 million victims of the Meds Yeghern, the Genocide of Armenians, committed in the final years of the Ottoman Empire.” Describing the genocide as “an unspeakable crime against humanity,” the AJC called upon the Turkish government to confront the truth. ”

Finally, the Israeli Knesset discussed recognition of the Armenian Genocide at a plenum on May 13. A motion by the left-wing Meretz party to recognize the genocide before its 100th anniversary next year received support from across the political spectrum, including from the rightist coalition government.

“These reversals of position by major Jewish organizations are quite significant for all those committed to recognition of the genocides of the past century,” stated Dikran Kaligian, chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Eastern Massachusetts. “No longer will Turkey be able to exploit the differences between the positions of these organizations’ leadership and their membership — the vast majority of whom want nothing to do with Turkey’s genocide denial campaign.”

Locally, the Coalition to Recognize the Armenian Genocide was established in 2008 to foster communication between the Armenian and Jewish communities and to raise awareness of the Armenian Genocide within the Jewish community. Its objectives include advocating for official recognition of the genocide by the United States government. Coalition members include representatives from the Armenian National Committee of America and the Armenian Assembly of America.

The coalition facilitated contacts between Armenian activists and members of the ADL and created an online petition calling on Congress to recognize the Armenian Genocide that has gathered over 21,000 signatures to date.

Laura Boghosian is a member of the Coalition to Recognize the Armenian Genocide.

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PRESS RELEASE: From The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights

May 19, 2014 by administrator

May 18, 2014

“The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights

addresses the Suffolk/ Foxman/ Armenian Issue”

At the May 17, 2014 Suffolk Law School commencement at the Wang Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, the Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights distributed 1000 flyers (please see the attached document) to the graduates and their families and guests.

The flyer protested Suffolk University President James McCarthy’s invitation to Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, to be its keynote speaker and receive an honorary law degree.

The main reasons cited by the flyer were Mr. Foxman’s and the ADL’s long-standing collusion with Turkey, a major human rights violator, in refusing to acknowledge the Armenian genocide of 1915 – 1923, making misleading statements on it, and in working to defeat U.S. Congressional resolutions on that genocide.

The protest against Mr. Foxman’s appearance was initiated in early April by Suffolk’s student chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. The chapter cited, among several reasons, Mr. Foxman’s stance against Armenian Americans (see over 1000 signatures at Change.org, “Remove ADL Director Abe Foxman as Suffolk Law’s 2014 Commencement Speaker”).

The law school’s invitation to Mr. Foxman came just one month after the Massachusetts Governor’s Council’s widely publicized rejection of attorney and ADL National Commissioner Joseph Berman to be a Superior Court judge.

We understand that Mr. Foxman’s commencement speech mentioned the Armenian “genocide.” We must reject his remarks as disingenuous and a clumsy attempt to mislead his audience. The ADL’s only formal and definitive statement on the Armenian issue was issued on August 21, 2007. As explained in the flyer and in NoPlaceForDenial.com’s Q & A, the ADL statement was deliberately and deceptively worded so as to sidestep applicable international law, namely the United Nations 1948 Convention on Genocide. As a result, from 2007 – 2008 the Massachusetts Municipal Association and over a dozen Massachusetts cities and towns severed their ties with the ADL’s “No Place for Hate” program.

The ADL’s infamous 2007 statement has never been withdrawn, nor have Mr. Foxman and his ADL ever apologized to Armenians.

Moreover, the ADL’s continued lobbying against an Armenian genocide resolution is hypocritical and disgraceful, particularly given that the organization claims to uphold the human rights of all ethnic groups and has successfully lobbied for numerous Holocaust resolutions in the U.S. and at the United Nations (see ADL Press Release, “ADL to Uncommitted U.N. Ambassadors: Support Holocaust Denial Resolution,” January 23, 2007).

Armenian Americans await the ADL’s full withdrawal of its deceitful August 21, 2007 statement; its unequivocal and unambiguous acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide; and, to begin to make amends for the injuries it has inflicted in lobbying against the recognition of the Genocide, the ADL must actively and sincerely lobby for the passage of the Armenian genocide resolution. If the ADL is truly composed of advocates for universal human rights and genocide prevention, it will do these things.

The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights takes special notice that some media continue to omit or misrepresent the above facts and the Armenian American position.

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Congratulations to Suffolk Law School’s 2014 Graduates & Their Families

The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights joins in protesting Suffolk Law’s invitation to Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s National Director since 1987, to be its keynote speaker and receive an honorary law degree. The National Lawyers Guild’s Suffolk chapter initiated the protest, and over 1000 people have signed its Change.org petition protesting Foxman. Hundreds have written to Suffolk President James McCarthy and commencement invitee US Senator Edward Markey.

Q: Why are Foxman and the ADL not deserving of being honored by Suffolk Law School?

A: A major example: Foxman and his ADL have for many years worked with Turkey, a major human rights violator, to prevent formal US recognition of the genocide committed by Turkey against 1.5 million Christian Armenians from 1915–23. This is hypocritical and contrary to the ADL’s stated mission of upholding the human rights of all people. Foxman has also tried to sidestep international law and diminish the Armenian genocide in his disingenuous, legalistically worded statement of August 21, 2007.

Q: How did Foxman’s statement sidestep international law?

A: To be genocide, the 1948 “United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” requires “intent” by the perpetrator. Foxman wrote, in part: “… the consequences of those actions [by Turkey] were indeed tantamount to genocide.” The word “consequences” is, in effect, the very opposite of the “intent” required by the Genocide Convention. And note that “tantamount to genocide” is not the same as genocide. Foxman has never withdrawn that statement or apologized.

Q: What had brought about Foxman’s statement?

A: In the summer of 2007, major protests arose in Massachusetts and the nation over the ADL’s long-time cooperation with Turkey to defeat Congressional resolutions on the Armenian genocide & the ADL’s refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. It made international news: NoPlaceForDenial.com.

Q: Was Foxman’s August 21, 2007 statement rejected by human rights activists and others?

A: Yes. From 2007 to 2008, the human rights commissions and city councils of Arlington, Bedford, Belmont, Lexington, Medford, Needham, Newburyport, Newton, Northampton, Peabody, Somerville, Watertown, and Westwood stopped sponsoring the ADL’s alleged anti-bias program “No Place for Hate.” The Massachusetts Municipal Association, representing all cities and towns, also dropped “No Place for Hate.” They realized that the ADL – one of whose major concerns is the Holocaust – was acting immorally and hypocritically. They knew that Foxman’s August 21 statement skirted international law. Human rights advocates and media excoriated Foxman and the ADL.

Q: Has Foxman ever punished anyone in the ADL for acknowledging the Armenian genocide?

A: Yes. When local New England ADL Director Andrew Tarsy suddenly acknowledged the Armenian genocide in 2007, Foxman immediately fired him. Jewish Americans condemned the firing. Foxman was forced to rehire Tarsy under terms never made public. Soon after, however, Tarsy resigned. He was later replaced by Derek Shulman, a political director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) which had similarly helped Turkey to cover up the Armenian genocide.

Q: Was the Armenian Genocide truly a genocide?

A: Yes. Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jewish lawyer, coined the word “genocide” in 1944 and authored much of the 1948 Genocide Convention. In a 1949 CBS-TV interview (see YouTube), Lemkin said he became interested in genocide because “it happened to the Armenians.” A 1951 World Court (ICJ) filing by the US cited the Armenian “genocide.” Nearly 20 countries, including Canada, France, Sweden, and Argentina, the International Association of Genocide Scholars, the European Union Parliament, the Parliament of the Council of Europe, a U.N. subcommittee, Massachusetts, and many others recognize the Armenian “genocide.” An Armenian genocide resolution is pending in the Senate. Senator Edward Markey, speaking today, is co-sponsoring it. Foxman and his ADL oppose the resolution.

Q: Why are Foxman and his ADL so against recognition of the Armenian genocide?

A: Jewish and Israeli analysts and media confirm that an agreement was initiated long ago among Turkey, Israel, and the ADL (and other organizations such as AIPAC, AJC, and JINSA). Turkey wanted Jewish American groups to lobby for Turkish interests. Though Turkish – Israeli relations have become strained, the agreement remains in force. See documentation in “A History of Lobbying against Genocide Recognition” at NoPlaceforDenial.com.

Q: Who has favored the US Congressional resolution on the Armenian genocide?

A: Scores of organizations of diverse orientations including American Values, National Council of Churches, NAACP, National Organization of Women, Sons of Italy, American Jewish World Service, and Jewish War Veterans of the USA. 126 Holocaust scholars signed a petition appearing in the New York Times (June 9, 2000) urging acknowledgement of the Armenian genocide.

Q: In view of all this, why would Suffolk University still honor Foxman and the ADL?

A: It’s inexplicable. President McCarthy claims that Foxman is being honored for his “body of work.” Such as the ADL’s sidestepping the Genocide Convention? Or the ADL’s efforts to stop recognition of the Armenian genocide while demanding commemoration and legislation on the Holocaust? Would a true human rights organization conspire with a human rights violator such as Turkey to cover up the murder of 1.5 million human beings? In 1993, authorities in San Francisco raided ADL headquarters. They discovered “evidence of a nationwide intelligence network accused of keeping files on more than 950 political groups, newspapers, and labor unions and as many as 12,000 people” (L.A. Times, April 9, 1993). The ADL paid an out-of-court settlement. In 2007, the police chief of Arlington, MA said his department could get information from the ADL that it could not legally acquire on its own. So is the ADL an organization that truly upholds civil & human rights and follows the law?

The Suffolk leadership’s divisive actions have not honored its graduates, their families, and the law.

The Ad Hoc Greater Boston Committee for Human Rights wishes graduates long and successful careers.

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BOSTON: Protest Against Suffolk Law School Commencement Speaker Foxman

May 17, 2014 by administrator

BOSTON, Mass.–A protest has been announced online against Abraham Foxman, long-time Director of the Anti-Defamation League, who is planned to speak at Suffolk University Law School’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 17^th. The protest, organized by activists within the Boston Armenian community, aims to bring attention to Foxman’s decades-long effort to thwart official US government recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Suffolk University President James McCarthy has come under fire for the choice of Foxman as speaker, as well as Suffolk University Law School’s decision to award Foxman an honorary law degree. In spite of a petition circulated by the National Lawyers Guild at Suffolk Law advocating for Foxman’s invitation to be revoked that garnered over 1,000 signatures and broad opposition in the community at large, the school has shown no intention of reversing its decision. Suffolk’s administration issued a defensive statement instead, quoted in The Boston Globe: “Mr. Foxman’s body of work is well deserving of recognition. . . .It is our hope that Mr. Foxman’s personal story as a Holocaust survivor and attorney who has dedicated his life to public service will inspire our graduates as they embark on their professional careers.”

When pressed in a 2007 interview with JTA if he had “done anything wrong” by engaging in a concerted effort against the recognition of a genocide, Foxman said, “It was also very clear to me that after the United States, the most important ally Israel has is Turkey. It’s a country that not only has promised to provide Israel with water until moshiach comes, but it’s a country that permits Israel’s pilots to do maneuvers over its land. And so, to me, it was very clear that there are two moral issues, but one trumps the other.”

Later in the same interview, Foxman offered his explanation for the criticism that the ADL received for opposing recognition of the Armenian Genocide from within the Jewish community. “That comes out of a changed demography, sociology. When we talk about assimilation, when we talk about intermarriage–you know what, that’s what it is.”

Meanwhile, outrage over Suffolk’s choice of commencement speaker has spread beyond the Armenian community. Foxman’s vocal support of the racial profiling of Muslims has drawn additional condemnation from students and the community, as has his stance on the Park 51 mosque controversy, during which he argued that the mosque should not be allowed to be built in the vicinity of Ground Zero. He was quoted in a 2010 article in Newsweek, explaining, “Their [the families of 9/11 victims] anguish entitles them to positions that others would categorize as irrational or bigoted.”

The protest will be held beginning at noon on Saturday, May 17^th, outside Boston’s Wang Theatre where the commencement is scheduled to take place.

Source: The Armenian Weekly