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‘Turkey Would Not Be Accepted in
the EU if It Touches Even One Jew’
By Khatchig Mouradian
WATERTOWN, Mass. (A.W.)—The Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
cites the security of the Jewish community in Turkey and
Israel’s alliance with Turkey for why it has failed to
unambiguously recognize the Armenian genocide and support
its recognition by the U.S. Congress. Treasurer of the
International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) Prof.
Jack Nusan Porter believes the well being of the Jews in
Turkey is not at stake.
“This is really just blackmail,” said Porter, author of “The
Genocidal Mind” and “Facing History and Holocaust” in an
interview with the Armenian Weekly. “Turkey would never
touch the Jewish community. It would never be accepted in
the European Union if it touched any Jew in Turkey. The real
question is: Why does this blackmail work? Why do people
believe it? In February of this year, Turkish officials met
with Jewish groups here in America and put out the word.
Most of the Jewish leaders disagreed, but some of them—like
the ADL leader [Abraham Foxman]—didn’t,” he added.
Porter underscored the importance of “educating” Israel in
these issues. “We, American Jews, have to educate Israel.
It’s just the opposite of what it was historically. The
Israelis had to teach us how to be Jewish. Now, we are going
to have to teach them how to be a good Jew: Take care of all
people, not only yourself.”
Turkey’s pressure on Israel regarding the Armenian genocide
issue is not new, he explained. “In 1979, Israel Charny
[former IAGS president and editor of “The Encyclopedia of
Genocide”] organized a conference in Tel Aviv. The Turkish
government put pressure on the Israeli government not to
send anybody to that conference. They’ve been pressuring
Israel for all these years,” said Porter.
Talking about how the Jewish community supports the
recognition of the Armenian genocide, Porter said, “The
right wing, ultra-nationalistic, conservative forces support
what’s good for Israel and do not interfere—even
oppose—everything else. But most of the Jews in this country
are universalistic and recognize the genocide.” He added,
“There was a good coordination of Jewish and Armenian
pressure. I hope it brings the two communities even closer
together.”
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