WASHINGTON (A.W.)—Last week, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), an umbrella group of Jewish organizations, adopted a resolution on the Armenian Genocide, vowing to work with Armenian-American organizations towards the recognition of the crime. This was the first time the organization has recognized the Armenian Genocide, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), which confirmed the fact with a JCPA spokesperson.
“The JCPA decision, arrived at through consensus, reverses decades of Jewish groups opposing any such recognition, largely to placate Turkey, Israel’s closest ally in the region until the last decade. Key pro-Israel groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, had lobbied against such recognition,” noted JTA.
“The Jewish communities, as the targets of one of the worst genocides of the 20th century, have a bond with the Armenian people here in the United States and abroad. We have a moral obligation to work toward recognition of the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people,” read the statement.
JCPA also called on the U.S. government to recognize the Armenian Genocide, reminding President Barack Obama of his pledge to do so as senator.
“The Jewish people have asked the world to bear witness to the Holocaust. As we say Never Again, we must likewise bear witness to other people’s genocide and say Never Again,” read the statement.
Below is the JCPA statement in its entirety.
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Resolution on Armenian Genocide
Adopted October 2015
Historians and scholars tell us that the Armenian people were the victims of the first genocide of the 20th century at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, the predecessors of modern-day Turkey. Approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed or expelled from their homes and deported. The year 2015 is the 100th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide. The government of Turkey has, to this day, refused to acknowledge such genocide took place.
The Armenian Genocide is a distant memory in the minds of the children of survivors. However, there is abundant documentation of the atrocities, particularly by former U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau. Nevertheless, Hitler stated in 1939, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
The Jewish communities, as the targets of one of the worst genocides of the 20th century, have a bond with the Armenian people here in the United States and abroad. We have a moral obligation to work toward recognition of the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people.
The word genocide was coined just prior to the end of World War II, and the word Holocaust did not come into common usage to describe what happened to the Jews until after WWII. However, the term “genocide” may be attributed to atrocities that meet the definition of genocide after they have taken place.
The U.S. government has yet to name what happened to the Armenian people for a variety of reasons. The most obvious is the fear that doing so will hurt our relationship with Turkey. Turkey spans the east and west. The United States needs Turkey’s permission to fly over its territory and for support services in the United States’ activities in Iraq, its attempts to keep Iran in check, and to fight ISIS.
After 100 years, it is time for the U.S. to face facts and acknowledge that what happened in 1915 and in subsequent years was genocide.
Since at least 1951 there have been numerous references by U.S. government officials, Congress, and previous presidents to what happened to the Armenians as genocide. These have often been during events held in commemoration of the anniversary of the start of the genocide. But efforts to pass a House resolution officially recognizing it have failed, often as a result of lobbying on behalf of Turkey.
President Barack Obama, as a senator, pledged to support congressional resolutions to recognize the Armenian Genocide. As a presidential candidate, he once again promised to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Yet once he became president, political realities prevented such a move.
At this time, some 23 foreign countries, a number of world organizations, and 44 U.S. states have recognized the genocide that took place against the Armenian people. The Union for Reform Judaism, Anti-Defamation League, and American Jewish Committee have previously taken positions recognizing the genocide, as well as some U.S. church groups.
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs believes:
– The Jewish people have asked the world to bear witness to the Holocaust. As we say Never Again, we must likewise bear witness to other people’s genocide and say Never Again.
– We suffer greatly from efforts to minimize our own suffering and experience of genocide and we have a moral responsibility, as Jews, to name it in others’ experience.
– We must not let the politics of the moment, or the U.S. government’s relationship with Turkey, sway our moral obligation to recognize the suffering of the Armenian people.
– We call upon the Congress and the president to officially recognize what started in 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, and resulted in the killing and deportation of approximately 1.5 million Armenians, as the Armenian Genocide.
The community relations field should:
– Consult and work with the national Armenian organizations to further the goal of U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
– Consult and work with the major Jewish organizations to raise awareness of the issue and gain their support in working to gain U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
– Consult and work with our interfaith coalition partners to further the aim of U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
– Urge our congressional representatives to support resolutions in Congress that call for the United States to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
– Call upon the president to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Guest Contributor
Thanks to them.
we thank the JCPA for their act to finally recognize the Armenian
Genocide, it is regrettable that it has to come when Turkish and Israeli relations are at it’s lowest, nevertheless it is commendable.
we hope this will lead to full world recognition and full reparations.
stolen land must be given back as well as billions of dollars of stolen properties.
President Obama should know or should be made aware that the very
air force base that he is using in turkey belongs to an Armenian family with deed in hand.
we thank you again JCPA and hope that you will work hand in hand with your Armenian counterparts to bring this tragedy, (the first genocide of the twentieth century)to it’s honorable rest.
“Actions speak louder than words”.
JCPA did the right thing. The voices will grow louder.
The future of intelligence is civilocity, a neologism defined as a form of government where we get to watch the leader of our country for the entire time anybody ever leads our country. Imagine that intelligence community. Power to the people not genocide for the people!!!
It took 100 years for one Jewish-American organization to acknowledge the suffering of other people, exterminated horrendous and barbarous ways, and committed 26 years earlier than Holocaust. Nonetheless, we thank them for their courage.
Hope!
I will stand by,next to, in front of and behind any brothers or sisters who are willing to stand for truth and justice. God bless all of them.
I’m glad they’re with us now, but the supposed ‘Ally’ that they where friends with has already turned into a full monster out in open. The only ones that can keep them in check seem to be the Russians.
Notwithstanding the honorable thing JCPA did, notwithstanding honorable Jewish-American politicians (e.g. CA Reps Schiff, Sherman,..), notwithstanding honorable Israelis (e.g. Dr. Charny), it is an unfortunate, undeniable fact that far more Jewish-American NGOs have actively collaborated with Turkish denialists for decades.
Far more Jewish-American intellectuals have actively participated in worldwide AG denial campaign being waged by Turks.
Same goes for Israel.
Even today, several Israeli writers, on Baku’s payroll, are spreading anti-Armenian disinformation and propaganda.
Questioning the AG.
So how is one Jewish-American NGO recognizing the AG going to undo the permanent damage several other NGOs have inflicted to our Cause over decades ?
And in a similar vein, any clue of latent biases those 10 judges harbor to come up with the convoluted, illogical reasoning re Perincek’s alleged “free speech” ?
As seven of the dissenting judges out of 17, wrote:
{Why should criminal sanctions for denial of the characterization of the massacres of Armenians in Turkey in 1915 as “genocide” constitute a violation of freedom of expression, whereas criminal sanctions for Holocaust denial have been deemed compatible with the Convention?}
Why indeed.
And there is your clue.
Late but I’ll take it.
We thank the Jewish Council of Public Affairs (JCPA) for adopting and recognizing the well docucmented Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 by the Turkish Government of that time. We hope the JCPA will push the other Jewish Organizations to come forth to also recognize our Genocide. They must stop being pressured by the Turkish Government.