By Jacob Palalay
How would American Jews react if the federal government questioned the existence of the Holocaust?
This is often asked by Lexington native Sheldon Schwartz, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, 5th District. As a Jew growing up in post-World War II America, Dr. Schwartz was personally affected by the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. He vividly recalls the memory of being told how many in his extended family died at the hands of the Germans. Those impressions shaped his young worldview and left him sensitive to the fate of other persecuted people.
Schwartz grew up in a Detroit neighborhood with a sizable Armenian community. Aside from learning Armenian cultural traditions, he also remembers Armenia’s history, in particular, the genocide of its people at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. He firmly believes that the Turkish government must formally recognize its mass persecution of the Armenians during the World War I era. Although sensitive to the geopolitical importance of a strong alliance with Turkey, our current foreign policy should not supersede an historical reality, he says. The Armenian Genocide can no longer be denied by any forward-thinking modern country, least of all the United States.
Furthermore, the U.S. must condemn the aggression of Russia and Azerbaijan towards Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabagh region. The bellicose posturing by the two countries stands to jeopardize a 20-year-plus ceasefire agreement and a democratic society that the Armenians have proudly created. Our administration must recognize Armenia’s right to exist without armed threats or incursions.
Schwartz has decided to challenge the incumbent because he believes that Washington has come to a legislative standstill. This political paralysis has resulted in the most ineffective Congress in the body’s 113-year history. “Elected officials go to Washington, offer platitudes or party line talking points, and accomplish very little. They take us—the constituents—for granted,” he said. Unlike his opponent, he is not a knee-jerk Democrat or a career politician. His willingness to reach across the aisle to try and achieve consensus on practical everyday issues such as health care, Social Security, and taxes is what the District (and all of Congress) needs. Lastly, he stresses that many problems can be solved, even in this political climate, provided that the Representative is more proactive, more passionate, and more knowledgeable.
Schwartz, a gastroenterologist and intensive care physician, has expertise in medical economics and healthcare policy. He also founded a commercial real estate company that owns and oversees residential apartment complexes in the Philadelphia area.He resides in Lexington with his wife Ellen. The two have been married for 45 years. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
Schwartz likens himself to Barney Frank or Bernie Sanders, progressives with firm opinions and deep knowledge with the confidence to negotiate and compromise. The district requires someone with his skill-set to solve critical issues facing us today: achieving health care with full reproductive rights accessible for all, improvements to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), strengthening Medicare and Social Security by ensuring that they are available for future generations, providing quality education for young people, and modifying tax policies to allow that the middle class to flourish once again.
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Let us follow the Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress, 5th District, Sheldon Schwartz, after he becomes a Congressman, if he is elected. Usually, we get all that lip service before election and we see nothing – after elected. Just remember that even if Mr. Schwartz is our friend, he knows our story, our fight, and he would like to help our cause, he may not be able to keep his word, because the powerful Zionist organization headed by Abe Foxman, called AIPAC, is against recognizing the Armenian Genocide for a list of reasons that is too long to mention here.
Amazing how quickly bigoted Jew-haters find unmoderated forums to post their insane Zionist conspiracy rants. It has no place on our Armenian news forum. It has no place in American society. We despise, pity, and condemn these whackos who attack people based on their religion. Shame on you for trying to stir up anti-Semitism in the community.
“insane Zionist conspiracy rant”? I don’t think so. It was Mr Peres himself (former President of Israel) who recently refused to recognise the Armenian genocide as such (though he did admit it was a “tragedy”). Pres. Peres appointed a Turkish-Jewish woman to represent her community in Turkey which also lobbied against recognition of the AG in the US.
The ADL, under Foxman (who was paid about $700,000 a year and recently announced his retirement), also lobbied against recognition (as well as other Jewish organizations) based on Peres’s beliefs, interfering and obstructing its US passage.
If you wonder why efforts by the Armenian-American community failed (so far) to achieve recognition you need to understand who was lobbying against it; the Israeli Govt. (and Mr Peres), the Turkish-Jewish lobby (lead by Mr Peres’s appointed lobbyist), assorted Jewish lobbying groups like the ADL, the Turkish Govt. (and its assortment of “geno-deport” fools), assorted Axerbaijani lobbyists and American legislators who receive “campaign contributions” from those organizations for their “loyalty” denying us American Armenians our right to freely petition our Govt. for justice.
Dr Schwartz may be a fine candidate and a person who sincerely believes in recognition of the AG but questions regarding his loyalties to the other groups mentioned need to be questioned and discussed before he can assume a leadeship position in Congress representing all of the American people and supporting their unobstructed right to freely petition our Govt.
Questioning the politics of the Israeli Govt’s actions, or the behaviour of its US Lobbyists, (either in the case of their obstruction of Armenian genocide recognition or more recently in Gaza) does not make one an “anti-Semitic” bigot.
Virginia was right in pointing out this hypocrisy, “cousin” and I think most of my Jewish friends would agree.
Yes, yes, yes. Zionist Conspiracies. All Jews are alike. Bigot. That’s like saying one Armenian is like all other Armenians, have no mind of their own, owe allegiance elsewhere, and you cannot take them at their word. Yawn. Since you are a bigot, ergo all Armenians are bigots in accordance with your rant. Anti-Semites need no reason to froth at the mouth. You’ve been exposed.