"Jewish lobby" might refrain from objecting to Genocide resolution

February 15, 2010 - 18:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net -
I personally don’t follow the policies of the “Jewish lobby” very closely and I also don’t like to use the term ‘Jewish lobby’ without specifying it. We know that Turkey and Israel’s relations are not so good now, said Taner Akçam, Associate Professor of History at Clark University, the author of “A Shameful Act: the Armenian Genocide and Turkish Responsibility” book.

It won’t surprise me to learn that some lobbying organizations, who has a very close relation to Israel, may use the tensions between Turkey and Israel to pull back from expending any energy in objecting to the genocide resolution. “But in either situation, whether opposing or supporting a Resolution, their justification for doing would be rather distasteful. One needs to recognize the ugliness of a position that essentially says “We’ll be either denialist or resolute on historical injustices depending on Israel’s political self-interest”, professor Akcam told PanARMENIAN.Net

The Armenian Genocide resolution

The resolution affirming the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.252) was formally introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Adam Schiff (D.-CA), George Radanovich (R.-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D.-NJ), and Mark Kirk (R.-Ill). On March 4, 2010 it was adopted with a 22-21 vote by the House Committee on Foreign Relations. A similar resolution was introduced in the Senate.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.