FresnoZionism.org — ציונות פרסנו

Embarrassing:

An official with a leading American Jewish organization told the The Jerusalem Post on Monday that a deterioration in Israel-Turkey relations might prompt his group and others to reconsider Armenian efforts to win recognition of the century-old Turkish massacres as genocide.

A bill that would ensure such recognition by the US, which was backed by Rep. Adam Schiff — a Jewish Democrat who represents a heavily Armenian area of Los Angeles – failed to make it to a Congressional vote in 2007. However, it sparked a row in the American Jewish community between those who sided with Turkey in an effort to protect Israel’s political interests, and those who argued that Jews were particularly responsible for helping other groups block the public denial of genocide.

“No Jew or Israeli in his right mind will insult Turkey,” the official told the Post. “But next time… they might not come to Turkey’s aid or equivocate quite so much on the issue.” — Jerusalem Post (my emphasis)

I have no idea who the un-named ‘official’ is, but his point of view is repugnant.

Does it even need to be said that it is everyone’s moral duty — not just Jews — to ensure that victims of genocide are remembered, so that present and future genocides can be stopped?

To suggest that recognition of historical events should be granted or withheld for political reasons is cynical; if the event in question is a genocide, it’s obscene.

I’ve written about this at least ten times, but it won’t go away. For example,

The Turkish government has its reasons for not admitting that the Young Turks, and later the Turkish Nationalists, murdered about a million and a half Armenians during and after World War I. The Israeli government also has its reasons for not wanting to irritate the Turks. Even the US [Bush] administration seems to feel that Turkey is too strategically important to annoy by using the word ‘genocide’ to describe the events. But the truth is the truth.

When I first came to Fresno in 1971, you could meet people in the supermarket who had been adult eyewitnesses to the murders, rapes, torture, dislocation, disease and  starvation that characterized the Armenian Genocide. Now it’s not so easy, even harder than finding Holocaust survivors.

Survivors sometimes feel that denial is the final stage of extermination. First the physical forms of the victims were destroyed, and then their memories are erased. Most Jews are familiar with the rage that comes over them when confronted with Holocaust denial. But — at least in the West, if not in Iran or the Arab world — deniers are marginal. After all, the present government of Germany has officially accepted responsibility for the Holocaust.

One can imagine how Armenians feel — actually, you don’t need to imagine, they will tell you — when, almost 100 years after the fact, the Turkish government still insists — against the huge preponderance of historical evidence — that while something happened to the Armenians, it wasn’t genocide, the Turks were not responsible, and it might even have been the Armenians’ fault. (“A little irony for the Turks“, 8/2008)

So let’s leave aside the facts that antisemitism in Turkey has reached new heights and Turkey’s Islamist government supports Hamas.

The reason for recognizing the Armenian Genocide is that it happened.

Technorati Tags: Israel, Turkey, Armenian Genocide, Erdogan

News item:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday reiterated his harsh criticism against Israel Operation Cast Lead aimed at restoring calm to the South of Israel.

Speaking to the Turkish Parliament in Ankara in a session that was carried by local television, Erdogan said his words were “less harsh than the white phosphorous shells used by the Israeli army.” [The IDF categorically denies using WP ammunition — ed.]

“Whoever does not express resentment over the killing of civilians, including women and children, loses his self respect,” Erdogan was quoted by Israel Radio as saying.

Erdogan said his criticism did not stem from anti-Semitism and emphasized that in the past he had termed anti-Semitism a crime against humanity.

But he then continued to say that “media outlets supported by Jews are disseminating false reports on what happens in Gaza, finding unfounded excuses to justify targeting of schools, mosques and hospitals.” [Watch IDF video here of weapons found in a mosque yesterday — ed.]

No antisemitism, just a problem with the Jewish media. I see.

But the situation is more worrisome than just a certain crudeness of expression on the part of Erdogan. It appears that Turkey has joined Iran as a country for which antisemitism has become a matter of policy.

Here is the text of an email received by our contributor Barry Rubin from a reliable correspondent in Turkey:

The Prime Minister in Turkey has encouraged hatred against Israel in his speeches which has become obvious anti-Semitic propaganda among the general public.

There are people around the clock besieging the Israeli consulate in Istanbul shouting their hatred against Israel and Jewish people. All around Istanbul billboards are full of propaganda posters against Israel like; “Moses, even this is not written in your book” and “Israel Stop this Crime.” On the streets the people are writing such graffiti as:  “Kill Jews,” “Kill Israel,” “Israel should no longer exist in the Middle East,” and “Stop Israeli Massacre.”

The week-end before, some people wrote, “We will kill you” on the door of one of the biggest synagogues in Izmir resulted in the closing down of synagogues. Near Istanbul University, a group put a huge poster on the door of a shop owned by a Jew: “Do not buy from here, since this shop is owned by a Jew.” A group put posters on his wall saying that: “Jews and Armenians are not allowed but dogs are allowed.”  Some young people are even threatening others with violence if they are seen as pro-Israel in social networking websites such as Facebook and Hi5.

The document attached is the official statement by the minister of education stating that tomorrow [January 14] at 11am in all the high schools and primary schools the students will pay homage to the women and children dead during the war and furthermore, the teachers of art will organize the session of painting and writing on the subject: “Humanity Drama in Palestine” and the winners will receive awards.

The Jewish community can do nothing in response to what has been going on for the last few weeks, except giving vague statements that the Turkish Jewish Community does not want the war to be continued any more.

We have previously faced some strong reaction regarding previous operations in Gaza and the West Bank but this time is really different from former ones. I feel open anti-Semitism and hatred from all these people. Nobody understood, even some widely read columnists in Turkey are writing things that lead all these groups toward this hatred becoming much more dangerous day by day.

But I know one thing: that the world should know about the widespread and openly anti-Semitic propaganda which far exceeds anything happening in Europe.

Keep in mind that what’s happening in Europe isn’t chopped liver, either. Erdogan has been described as a ‘moderate Islamist’, which is apparently an oxymoron.

Technorati Tags: Jews, Turkey, Erdogan, Israel

Ha’aretz reports:

Israel has officially protested against the planned visit of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Turkey next week.

Israel’s ambassador to Turkey, Gabi Levy, presented the protest to officials in Ankara, and the Turkish ambassador to Israel was summoned to Jerusalem.

“Israel is disappointed that Turkey has invited for an official visit a leader who denies publicly the Holocaust, and thus grants him legitimacy,” was the message given to the Turkish ambassador to relay to his government.

Will the Turks will see the irony in being asked to shun a Holocaust denier, when they themselves officially deny that their predecessors committed genocide against the Armenians?

Israel and American Jews have been caught between a rock and a hard place in regard to the Armenian Genocide. I’ve written a number of posts on the subject.

The Turkish government has its reasons for not admitting that the Young Turks, and later the Turkish Nationalists, murdered about a million and a half Armenians during and after World War I. The Israeli government also has its reasons for not wanting to irritate the Turks. Even the US administration seems to feel that Turkey is too strategically important to annoy by using the word ‘genocide’ to describe the events. But the truth is the truth.

When I first came to Fresno in 1971, you could meet people in the supermarket who had been adult eyewitnesses to the murders, rapes, torture, dislocation, disease and  starvation that characterized the Armenian Genocide. Now it’s not so easy, even harder than finding Holocaust survivors.

Survivors sometimes feel that denial is the final stage of extermination. First the physical forms of the victims were destroyed, and then their memories are erased. Most Jews are familiar with the rage that comes over them when confronted with Holocaust denial. But — at least in the West, if not in Iran or the Arab world — deniers are marginal. After all, the present government of Germany has officially accepted responsibility for the Holocaust.

One can imagine how Armenians feel — actually, you don’t need to imagine, they will tell you — when, almost 100 years after the fact, the Turkish government still insists — against the huge preponderance of historical evidence — that while something happened to the Armenians, it wasn’t genocide, the Turks were not responsible, and it might even have been the Armenians’ fault.

Turkey wants to join the EU. It would only be fair to ask them to follow the example of Germany.

Technorati Tags: Armenian Genocide, Turkey, Holocaust, genocide

I knew this was going to happen.

The Jews are now in trouble with both the Turks and the Armenians: the Turks because we are blamed for the genocide resolution’s Oct. 10 approval by the House Foreign Relations Committee, and the Armenians because several Jewish organizations opposed it.

It looks now as though the resolution will not pass the full House, thanks to Turkish threats to complicate the situation in Iraq. Does this mean that the Turks will like us? Fat chance. Antisemitism always plays well when a government wants to change the subject.

Technorati Tags: Armenian genocide, Turkey

It’s hard to understand this as anything other than a threat:

The passage of a resolution in the US Congress supporting Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire will irreparably damage the image of the United States and make the Jewish population a target of criticism in Turkey, Foreign Minister and Chief EU Negotiator Ali Babacan has said…

An influential US Jewish group, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), recently reversed its longtime position and declared killings of Armenians in eastern Anatolia during the World War I years to be genocide. The ADL says it [still] remains opposed to the Congress [sic] resolution because history should be left to historians and not politicians…

Babacan said if the resolution is passed in Congress, the Jewish population will inevitably be the target of public anger in Turkey. He said Turkish officials have told the ADL and other US Jewish groups in recent talks that the widespread perception in Turkey would be that “Armenian and Jewish lobbies unite forces against Turks.” He said: “We have told them that we cannot explain it to the public in Turkey if a road accident happens. We have told them that we cannot keep the Jewish people out of this.” — Today’s Zaman [Turkish English-language newspaper] [my emphasis]

The ADL had originally refused to say that genocide had taken place. But many Jews believe strongly that the Armenian Genocide is a matter of historical fact, and that it is morally unacceptable for Jews, of all people, to deny it. The ADL, under pressure from Jews, Armenians, and even its own employees, finally did backtrack to some extent, although its statement was far from unequivocal.

It seemed to me at the time that the ADL — although its position on the Genocide was wrong — was motivated by fear of the consequences for Turkish Jews.

Now the Turkish Foreign Minister has hinted that the Jews would suffer if the resolution is passed, and he suggests that the Turkish government would be powerless to prevent an antisemitic reaction by the Turkish public in that case!

This is complicated also by the pressure that Turkey is expected to apply via Israel:

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Sunday following a brief visit to Damascus. High on his agenda in Jerusalem will be Israel’s air strike on Syria last month and the American Jewish community’s stand on whether the World War I killing of Armenians constituted genocide…

Turkish media reports have said Babacan is expected to play a mediating role between Syria and Israel. If so, he has his work cut out for him, as A-Baath, the official newspaper of President Bashar Assad’s government, warned Saturday that Syria would not hesitate to start a war with Israel to restore its control over the Golan Heights…

Alongside Syria, Babacan is expected to talk with his Israeli interlocutors about legislation that will come before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday that would declare the World War I era killings of Armenians a genocide. — Jerusalem Post

I presume that Babacan intends to explain to the Israelis how Israeli interests will suffer as a result of the behavior of the ADL, which the Turks — who understand nothing about Jews, the US, or democracy — incorrectly believe to be an agent of the Israeli government.

The ADL will not make another about-face. American Jews massively support the genocide resolution and will not change their position. I would like to believe that the Turks will not behave as antisemitic bullies.

Update [10 Oct 2153 PDT]: The House Foreign Relations Committee has voted to approve the resolution. If it is passed by the full House, it is expected to cause serious strains in the relationship between the US and Turkey.

Technorati Tags: Turkey, Israel, Jews, Armenian Genocide, ADL, Babacan