The ADL and the Armenian Genocide:

CHRONOLOGY OF RECENT EVENTS

"The Armenian Weekly", 2007 Year End Special Issue, Volume 73, No. 51-52, December 22-29, 2007

The timeline below describes the recent controversy over the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), its policy on the Armenian genocide, and the fate of its No Place for Hate (NPFH) programs throughout Massachusetts. For a more in-depth chronology, along with up-to-date news and information, visit www.noplacefordenial.com

July 6

A letter to the editor by one Armenian-American—Newton, Mass., resident David Boyajian—is printed in the Watertown Tab. It is titled “Anti-Defamation League works against recognition of Armenian genocide.”

July

Several letters are sent to the Watertown Tab, Boston Globe and Watertown’s No Place for Hate program and the Watertown Town Council.

Aug. 1

The Boston Globe first reports on the issue in a front-page article titled “Antibias effort stirs anger in Watertown.” When asked by the Globe if what happened to the Armenians under the Ottoman Empire was genocide, ADL national director Abraham Foxman replied, “I don’t know.” In the article, ANC of Eastern Massachusetts chairwoman Sharistan Melkonian accuses Foxman of engaging in genocide denial and states that she will call for the Watertown NPFH program to sever its ties with the ADL unless the latter acknowledges the genocide.

Aug. 2

Petition requesting ADL to openly and unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian genocide and support congressional affirmation is launched in Watertown, Mass.

Aug. 14

The Watertown Town Council unanimously votes to become the first town to sever ties with the ADL. The proclamation, introduced by Watertown councillor-at-large Marilyn Petitto Devaney, states: “The Town Council has become aware that the ADL denies the facts of the horrific Armenian Genocide, that occurred from 1915 to 1923. … The Town Council can not continue to join with such an organization.”

Aug. 17

The New England regional ADL breaks ranks with the national ADL, recognizes the Armenian genocide and calls for support of H.Res.106. The NE regional director, Andrew Tarsy, is fired soon after.

Aug. 18

The Boston Globe runs a front page article about Tarsy’s firing.

Aug. 19

Two prominent board members of the NE ADL resign in protest.

Aug. 20

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston and 13 other area Jewish organizations issue a statement recognizing the Armenian genocide and standing in solidarity with the NE ADL and Andrew Tarsy.

Aug. 21

The National ADL issues its now-infamous statement on the Armenian genocide. It reads, in part: “We have never negated but have always described the painful events of 1915-1918 perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians as massacres and atrocities. On reflection, we have come to share the view of Henry Morgenthau, Sr. that the consequences of those actions were indeed tantamount to genocide. If the word genocide had existed then, they would have called it genocide. … Having said that, we continue to firmly believe that a Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the United States.”

The Human Rights Commission of Newton holds a meeting and sends a letter to the ADL asking it to unambiguously recognize the Armenian genocide, support H.Res.106 and reinstate Andrew Tarsy as a condition for the continuation of the ADL program.

Reacting to the ADL’s statement issued that morning, Newton Mayor David B. Cohen said, “Whenever I saw the word Armenian, in my mind I substituted the word Jewish. And whenever I saw the word genocide, I substituted the word Holocaust. And I said, would I be satisfied if this were the response of my leaders? And the answer was no.”

Aug. 23

The national ADL issues a statement calling for “joint commissions” to study the Armenian genocide.

Aug. 24

The government of Turkey condemns the ADL’s Aug. 21 statement.

Aug. 25

Turkey’s Prime Minister announces that the ADL’s national director, Abraham Foxman, in a personal letter has apologized for labeling the events a genocide.

Aug. 28

The national ADL reinstates NE regional leader Andrew Tarsy stating that the NE ADL and the national ADL now see “eye to eye.”

Aug. 30

A Jewish-Armenian solidarity event is held at the Massachusetts State House.

Aug. 31

The town of Newburyport, Mass., sends a letter to the ADL asking it to unambiguously recognize the Armenian genocide and support congressional affirmation.

Armenians residents of Needham, Mass., ask the town to sever ties with the ADL program. The Needham Human Rights Committee sends a letter to the ADL.

Sept. 4

The Bedford, Mass., Violence Prevention Coalition demands an explanation from the ADL.

Sept. 6

The Belmont, Mass., Human Rights Commission votes to recommend that the town sever ties with the ADL.

Sept. 11

The Newton Human Rights Commission recommends to the Mayor that the town cease participation in the ADL-sponsored No Place for Hate program.

Sept. 12

The Massachusetts Municipal Association sends a letter to the ADL calling on it to recognize the Armenian genocide and support passage of the congressional resolution.

West Coast Armenian and Jewish community organizations urge the ADL to end its opposition to Armenian genocide legislation.

Sept. 17

The Belmont Board of Selectmen unanimously votes to sever ties with the ADL.

Sept. 18

The Mayor of Newton severs ties with the ADL’s NPFH program.

Sept. 19

The Arlington, Mass., Human Rights Commission votes to rescind endorsement of the ADL program citing the ADL’s failure to support H.Res.106.

Sept. 24

The Lexington Board of Selectmen hold their first public meeting to discuss the future of the town’s NPFH program. The meeting is moved at the last minute from the Town Hall to the auditorium to accommodate the larger-than-expected number of local residents who wished to be heard on this issue.

Sept. 27

Foxman meets with Erdogan and publicly reiterates opposition to the Armenian Genocide Resolution and re-states his support for Turkey’s calls for a joint commission of historians.

Oct. 15

The Lexington Board of Selectmen votes to sever ties with the ADL.

The Arlington Board of Selectmen votes to sever ties with the ADL.

Westwood, Mass., votes to suspend ties with the ADL.

Oct. 17

The Medford, Mass., Human Rights Commission unanimously votes to suspend ties with the ADL.

Oct. 19

The New York Times reports on the ongoing efforts in Massachusetts towns to sever ties with the ADL.

Oct. 29

The AYF holds a vigil in front of the ADL’s national headquarters in New York City.

Oct. 30

The Massachusetts Armenian community sends a letter to the ADL National Commission on the eve of its annual meeting. Co-signed by the ANC and the Armenian Assembly of Massachusetts, the letter asks that “the ADL remain true to its mission and fully and unequivocally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, refrain from advocating for Turkish calls for a ‘historical commission,’ and express support for U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Armenian-Americans also rightfully expect an apology from Mr. Foxman for the damage and pain the ADL’s actions and statements have caused thus far.”

Nov. 1

A rally is organized in front of the ADL’s national headquarters in New York.

Nov. 2

The ADL National Commission votes to “take no further action on the issue of the Armenian genocide.”

Nov. 14

The Needham Human Rights Committee votes to suspend the town’s membership to the NPFH program due to the ADL’s failure to change its position on the Armenian genocide following its Nov. 2 meeting.

Nov. 15

The Medford City Council votes to suspend the town’s NPFH program due to the ADL’s failure to support national recognition of the Armenian genocide.

Nov. 19

The Bedford Board of Selectmen votes unanimously to suspend the town’s participation in the NPFH program.

Dec. 3

In the wake of an outpouring of community concerns and a formal protest by the ANC-Glendale chapter, the Glendale Unified School District accounces that a three-day seminar organized by the ADL at Herbert Hoover High has been postponed.

Dec. 4

The Needham Board of Selectmen votes to accept the Human Rights Committee’s recommendation to suspend the NPFH program over the ADL’s position on the Armenian genocide.

Andrew Tarsy announces his resignation as ADL’s NE regional director. The Boston Globe reports that according to his supporters, it is “the result of his rift with the ADL’s national director, Abraham H. Foxman, over the genocide issue.”