Anti-Armenian flyers discovered in Glendale, California

Anti-Armenian flyers discovered in Glendale, California

This past Friday, anti-Armenian flyers were discovered posted on light poles in Glendale, California. The flyers were found near St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church on South Central Avenue.

The flyer read “NEVER AGAIN does not apply to GOYIM (Armenia) Israel FULLY SUPPORTS our Azeri-Turk Brothers to complete Armenian Genocide.” 

According to the news release sent out by the Glendale Police Department, “officers responded to the scene and immediately began an investigation of a possible hate crime directed toward the Armenian Church and the Armenian community.” 

Following the Beverly Hills government and police department’s inadequate response when a similar incident occurred earlier in the year, the Armenian community in Glendale has expressed outrage in response to the flyers. Many are calling for swift action to be taken to identify and punish the perpetrators for spreading hate and inciting violence against the Armenian community. In the United States alone, there have been various reports of hate crimes and acts of discrimination against Armenians since the conflict began, including vandalism, assault and even death threats, so this matter taking place in the city with the highest concentration of Armenians outside of Armenia itself is a direct target and should not be taken lightly. 

In a social media post, Glendale Mayor Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian stated that “the city is in the active process of investigating it as well as issuing an official city statement.” The Glendale City Council, Glendale Police Department and community leaders, including members from the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Glendale Chapter, held a press event, condemning these actions and promising to utilize all available resources to fully investigate any and all criminal activity that is associated with this abhorrent incident. 

This incident is just the latest in a series of hate crimes and acts of Armenophobia against Armenians in the United States, particularly in the wake of the recent blockade between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Artsakh. 

The Glendale incident serves as a reminder of the urgent need to combat hate and bigotry in all its forms. The Armenian community deserves to feel safe and protected, and it is the responsibility of all of us to stand up against hate speech and violence. Only by working together can we create a society where all people feel safe and respected, regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion.

Melody Seraydarian

Melody Seraydarian

Melody Seraydarian is a journalist and undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, pursuing a degree in Media Studies with a concentration in media, law and policy. Her column, "Hye Key," covers politics, culture and everything in between from a Gen-Z perspective. She is from Los Angeles, California and is an active member of her local Armenian community.

3 Comments

  1. I’m appalled by the fact that Armenia has diplomatic relations with Israel which has fully supported the Azeri war against Artsakh militarily and with intelligence. What does Armenia gain from this relationship? Can someone provide a rationale for it? Furthermore, this is upsetting for Armenia’s neighbor at the south border, Iran, which is under constant threat by Israel and the US. Armenia must rethink its strategy in the region by aligning with the BRICS camp and move away from the illusion that the Western countries, including the US, will protect the homeland.

    • We need central a national and nationalist leaders that stablish long term goals with directives and actions to be taken by all the armenians -including the diáspora-. We need to think and act with a long term view if we want to preserve out country and our identity.

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