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An Open Letter to Abraham H. Foxman,
National Director, ADL
The purpose of this letter is to discuss the oft mentioned
desire of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to encourage
Turkey and Armenia to begin the process of reconciliation by
confronting their shared past. I am not sure that the ADL
fully understands what prevents this meaningful sharing from
taking place.
The Armenian genocide is a historic fact that has been
extensively and impartially studied and accepted by eminent
international historians and genocide scholars. However,
Turkish leaders have chosen to turn a blind eye to this dark
and sorry chapter in their modern history. Not only has the
Turkish government refused to see what happened, but they
have resorted to a continuous and well-financed campaign of
denial and historic revisionism to hide their guilt. The ADL
cannot be unaware of the litany of lies and deceptive
statements that Ankara has authored these many years.
The ADL must have decided that the independent eye-witness
accounts of depravity, the photographs depicting the
numerous acts of brutality and the pages of official
documents that speak to an Armenian genocide were irrelevant
when it declared that the genocide only merited its
qualified recognition. Then in the same breath, so-to-speak,
the ADL hedged its position by saying that it would not
support the resolution before the United States Congress to
recognize the Armenian genocide. How can the ADL recognize
the Armenian genocide—albeit partially—and then
simultaneously go on record that it does not want Congress
to recognize the Armenian genocide? Isn’t that
counterproductive?
The position crafted by the ADL is nothing less than a tacit
acceptance of the egregious lies and deceptive statements
that serve as the basis for Turkey’s policy of denial and
historic revisionism. This position by the ADL only
encourages Turkish intransigence. I cannot allow myself to
believe that this is the intent or purpose of the ADL.
I have served as co-chair and participant in Holocaust
Observances in the City of Newton, Mass., while a
commissioner on the Newton Human Rights Commission. I hold
dear a letter from Lenny Zakim, then-New England director of
the ADL, thanking me for my efforts. His death was a severe
loss to the entire community. I mention this because I have
always respected the mission of the ADL. Unfortunately, the
series of recent episodes by the ADL has been regrettable.
Armenians have never had any fear of confronting their
shared past with the Turkish people. On the contrary, it has
been the fear of the Turkish government, for obvious
reasons, to confront its shared past with the Armenian
people that prevents rapprochement. On this most significant
of issues—recognition of the Armenian genocide—the ADL has
failed. This was the opportunity for the ADL to forcefully
and forthrightly speak out against genocide, holocaust and
ethnic cleansing as political solutions. Unfortunately, the
ADL for whatever reasons preferred not to seize the moment.
The vacillation and equivocation amply demonstrated by the
current leadership during these past several weeks has not
enhanced the credibility of the ADL.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Mensoian
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