A cable sent by U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Armenia Rudolf Perina was among the classified diplomatic documents released recently by whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

The American diplomat touched on reaction of the Armenian public to recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Perina said that “Armenian media outlets have not played up” the decision by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to recognize the Armenian Genocide. “Virtually all television stations reported the news in a brief, straightforward manner. The newspapers carried the news in short articles on the front page. None carried any commentary,” he said.

The diplomat presumed that the reaction to the ADL decision reflects the fact that Genocide affirmation is hardly newsworthy. “The facts are self-evident to most Armenians, and they tend to be much less emotionally invested,” Perina reported. “As Armenia has only a tiny Jewish population and practically no history of anti-Semitism, this low-key reaction in the Armenian press and public may also be attributed, in part, to an overall unfamiliarity with the ADL, and why its opinion on the issue should be of interest.”

August 21, 2007, Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today issued the following statement: “ADL has decided to revisit the tragedy that befell the Armenians. 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.”