Yesterday the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the Armenian genocide resolution. That is the bill, kicking around for years, that recognizes the Armenian genocide as precisely that - genocide. The Turkish government has always strongly opposed the resolution, arguing - unconvincingly, in my opinion - that the slaughter of the Armenians occurred in the context of war and was not an attempt at their intentional eradication.
I never understood why the Turks care so much. The current democratic Turkish Republic was not even in existence during the Armenian slaughter. It is the successor state to the Ottoman Empire under which the killing took place. The current Turkish government is no more responsible for the Armenian genocide than the current German government is responsible for the Holocaust.
Nonetheless, the Turks vehemently oppose using the term "genocide" to describe the events of 1915.
And successive American administrations have deferred to the Turks by opposing Congressional bills "commemorating" the "Armenian genocide."
It is no different this year. The Obama administration lobbied against the resolution because it believed that enacting it would disrupt our relations with Turkey, a fellow NATO member and one that is especially critical as our troops remain engaged in both Iraq and Afghanistan. It also argued that passing the bill now would disrupt negotiations now underway between Turkey and Armenia.
It passed anyway and the Turks immediately called its ambassador home.
But here is where it gets really interesting. The following comes from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the Associated Press of the Jewish world. JTA writes:
In the past, the pro-Israel community [i.e. the Israel lobby] , has lobbied hard against previous attempts to pass similar resolutions, citing warnings from Turkish officials that it could harm the alliance not only with the United States but with Israel -- although Israel has always tried to avoid mentioning the World War I-era genocide.
In the last year or so, however, officials of American pro-Israel groups have said that while they will not support new resolutions, they will no longer oppose them, citing Turkey's heightened rhetorical attacks on Israel and a flourishing of outright anti-Semitism the government has done little to stem.That has lifted the fetters for lawmakers like Berman (Chairman Howard Berman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee) , who had been loath to abet in the denial of a genocide; Berman and a host of other members of the House's unofficial Jewish caucus have signed on as co-sponsors.
Get that. The lobby has always opposed deeming the Armenian slaughter a genocide largely because Turkey has (or had) good relations with Israel. And the lobby, and its Congressional acolytes, did not want to harm those relations.
But, since the Gaza war, Turkish-Israeli relations have deteriorated. The Turks, like pretty much every other nation on the planet, were appalled by the Israeli onslaught against the Gazans. And said so.
Ever since, the Netanyahu government has made a point to stick it to the Turks. Most famously, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon seated the Turkish ambassador in a kindergarten chair during a meeting, and "forgot" to put a Turkish flag on the table alongside the Israeli flag. He then called the Israeli photographers in and said to them in Hebrew - so the Turkish ambassador wouldn't understand, "The important thing is that they see he's sitting lower and we're up high and that there's only one flag, and you see we're not smiling."
News of that episode so enraged the Turks and humiliated the Israelis that Ayalon had to apologize three times, in progressively more abject terms, or face a rupture in Israeli-Turkish relations.
That battle is now being carried to Washington. The Israelis are trying to teach the Turks a lesson. If the Armenian resolution passes both houses and goes into effect, it will not be out of some newfound compassion for the victims of the Armenian genocide and their descendants, but to send a message to Turkey: if you mess with Israel, its lobby will make Turkey pay a price in Washington.
And, just maybe, the United States will pay it too.
Follow MJ Rosenberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mjmediamatters
David Shasha: The Arab Jewish Tradition and the Past and Future Promise of Peace
It is standard practice to see Jews and Arabs as embattled enemies rather than try to recall a time when the Jews of the Middle East were integrated into the Arab culture and civilization.
For years, they all wanted nothing to do with the Armenian genocide because Israel wanted it that way. Then Israel changed their mind and all 3 changed theirs. They do a hell of a job for Israel every time.
Remember this story, "I asked Rosen if aipac suffered a loss of influence after the Steiner affair. A half smile appeared on his face, and he pushed a napkin across the table. “You see this napkin?” he said. “In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on this napkin.”
Jeffrey Goldberg (The New Yorker).
When Paulson and GW addressed the nation about the crisis, I sent 3 emails a day for 5 days in a row to each senator and rep and the majority and minority leader and whip and everyone else I could think of. According to the news the mail was running 20 to 1 against the bailout. But my Senators and Rep voted for it. They do a hell of a job for the banksters.
But they do not represent me period. We need different ones who will represent us.
Why thats a problem is that the other lobbies work for american industry and institutions, AIPAC works for a foreign power.
It shouldnt be legal for a foreign power, any foreign power to be able to lobby the US government. Thats the job of the diplo corps and the sec. State.
"Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations".
Know anyone who practices such "manifestations"?
One, Jews are not accused of being disloyal to America. There is not a serious or credible commentator to say such nonsense.
However, and unlike your example of Irish Americans, there have been some Israelis caught spying on the US over the past decades. Nor does the US Congress concern itself to such a degree with Ireland, or give so much military aid or profess loudly and often unwavering support, etc.
But the second part of your post contradicts the first. Not good for your own credibility, I'd say.
8) The most dramatic lie is about the outcome of the Armenians who were relocated. Because the majority of these Armenians returned to their homes.
Because, on December 18, 1918, a law which let the Armenians return to their homes and claim their properties was issued by the Ottoman State. Here are non-Ottoman evidences:
*In a report prepared by the Armenian Patriarchate in 1921, the Armenians who lived on the Ottoman territory in Anatolia, Middle East and those who returned to their previous locations were shown as 644 900. It was added that the Armenians who became Muslim, who were hidden and who did not encourage to return their homes were not included but they were assumed to be 20 000 (US ARCHIVES NARA, Mikrofilm No.T1192, Roll8; Department of State Papers….,860).
*In an article published in Der Neue Orient Magazine, it was reported that the number of Armenians in Ottoman Armenia was thought to be 470 000 (including those who lived in İzmir and İstanbul but excluding the Armenians who escaped to Caucasia). Additionally more than 30 000 Armenians lived in Adana and 40 000 in Aleppo (Der Neue Orient May 1919, p.178)
*The Armenian population in Cilicia (Çukurova) was reported as 218 000 in a document dated July 1920 (US ARCHIVES NARA, Mikrofilm No: T 1192R 2;860J.01/395. Appendix. From Acting High Commissioner Dulles to the Foreign Minister).
6) Falcified allegations of speeches attributed to Atatürk: The first claim about Atatürk was that he was one of the witnesses, who supported Armenians in the “Court Martials” in İstanbul. In this claim, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was confused with the Chairman of the “Court Martials”, Mustafa Kemal, whose nickname was Nemrud. During the trials in İstanbul, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was in Ankara as a leader of the national struggle. James H. Tashjian, the Armenian editor of ‘The Armenian Review’ stated that Mustafa Kemal Pasha, never appeared before such a tribunal, nor did he render such a statement (The Armenian Weekly Boston, Mass, USA, March 20, 1982 and The Armenian Review V35, Autumn 1982); however James H. Tashjian was fired from his work later on.
The second claim was about the statement, which attributed to Atatürk, given to Los Angeles Examiner in 1926. However, it was proven that this claim, which was made by Armenians in various platforms, was false. There was no evidence that a Swiss journalist, who was called Emile Hilderband, came to Turkey. Moreover, it was not found a journalist named Hilderband in the documents of Swiss authorities.
According to the third claim was about Atatürk's speech in Turkish Grand National Assembly, on 24th of April 1920, Atatürk condemned the leaders of Jön Turks for their genocide policies. After the research of the speech records of Turkish Grand National Assembly in both open and secret sessions, it was proven that Mustafa Kemal did not make such speech.
Mustafaka,
Thank you for posting this information. I missed it the first time around. This point of view is never published in the US media. The Turks, it is assumed, are automatically guilty, but because of past associations that are now no longer viable, it was allowed to slide. Please continue to express your viewpoint & fill this vacuum. Your detractors, of course, will try to defame what you write (without necessarily disagreeing with what you are saying), but I would encourage you to continue.
4)The cover photograph of the book of Tessa Hoffmann: German Greek scholar Tessa Hoffmann printed the painting of Russian artist Vasili Vereshchagin entitled ‘The Apotheosis of the Franco-Prussia War of 1871, depicting a mass of skulls painted after 1878, as if it were the photograph of 1915 Armenian genocide, in the cover of her book and had to admit her forgery during the trial of Doğu Perinçek in March 2007, in which she was listened as a wittness.
Interestingly, Tessa Hoffman is a scholar of genocide.
5) Atatürk’s photograph: The large poster with ‘FACE OF DENIAL-DOES NOT LIE’ related to a conference given by Dr Vahram Shemmasian, Ardashes Kassakhian and Dr Levon Marashlian, at UCLA on April 14, 2005, organized by Armenian Genocide Commemoration Committee (http://www.genocideevents.com/cities/losangeles.html.
The photo depicts the founder of the Turkish Republic, Ataturk, sitting on a chair outside a house with the corpse of a young girl with her innards exposed to the elements. Soon, the original of this photo was found by the Turks: It was a photograph of Ataturk for his wife Latife Hanım as a souvenir, posing with some ‘cute dog puppies’ at his feet. Two photos were printed in the July 1, 2005 issue of Hurriyet (http://webarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/2005/07/01/665930.asp), as ‘a forgery scandal’.
Then, what UCLA’s ethical committee did was to erase the handwritten note and doctor a photo of Armin Wengler in place of the puppies.
3)Diary of American Ambassador Morgenthau published in 1918. Professor Heath Lowry, an American historian from Princeton University displayed that the events depicted in the book depended on lies or half true events, by comparing the information Ambassador Morgenthau sent to American Foreign Ministry, with those written in the diary, in his book entitled ‘The Story Behind Ambassador Morgenthau’s Story’, in 1990.
Moreover, after the Ottoman State was defeated in the 1st World War in 1918, the French and English invaders arrested 144 high level Ottoman officials including the ex-prime ministers, ex-deputies, governors and many newspapermen, and banished them to Malta Island, claiming that they were responsibles for death of Armenians.
The English seized all the Ottoman Archives and also all other archives in other cities, like those in Urfa Governer House. No evidence could be found neither in the Ottoman and English Archives. The Americans, whom the English applied, failed to find any proof in American Archives and reports of American Orthodox church or missioners either. Nor could Damat Ferit Pasha, then the Ottoman Prime Minister who was in absolute collaboration with the English could find any evidence. And, they had to make all these 144 Ottomans free in 1921, since they could not find any proof to be able to verdict them.
If The Blue Book, the telegrams of Aram Andonian and the diary of Ambassador Morgenthau (which had already been published then) were reliable proofs, why did the English, French and Americans not use them ?
Turkey and about 95% of the world vehemently opposed our government's criminal actions. Should we punish the rest of the world for expressing a valid and grounded argument, that there were other alternatives to war in Iraq??
My guess is you would definately jump on that bandwagon, for those same countries that opposed the war in Iraq also opposed Israel's deliberate, racist massacre of non-Jewish humans last year. Give it up kid, you're in the wrong.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153893.html
So now Israel is resorting to this with Turkey:
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/political-blackmail.html
Timing is the clue that Israel is up to something; but this typical tactic has the Lobby's fingerprints all over it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7042209.stm
"Well-known scholars of Ottoman history, such as Bernard Lewis and Andrew Mango, question the appropriateness of the genocide label.
It is time to acknowledge that we are dealing with a genuine historical controversy that should be resolved by scholars rather than politicians. "
Mother's side is 100% Irish from Cork and Dublin. Father's side is 25% Christian Lebanese (Maronite) from around Beirut and 25% from mainland Greece. Only sounds complicated when I don't sketch it out. All sides of the family emigrated and landed in Boston.