Katie Vanadzin
Abraham Foxman’s weekend address at the Suffolk Law School commencement
was the subject of considerable controversy for the month leading up to
his speech on Saturday. Campaigns were initiated by the National
Lawyer’s Guild at Suffolk University as well as by the Armenian Museum
of America to urge the University to reconsider its choice of speaker,
citing Foxman’s controversial views on the Armenian genocide as well as
on the rights of Muslims in America. Foxman, who is outgoing director of
the Anti-Defamation League, has come under fire for his organization’s
lobbying on behalf of the Turkish government against official
recognition of the Armenian genocide on the part of the U.S., as well as
the ADL’s series of vague, legalistic statements that attempt to
sidestep classifying the Armenian genocide as such.
Suffolk University was roundly criticized in recent weeks for its
choice of commencement speaker. The president of the Suffolk University
chapter of the National Lawyer’s Guild, Amy Willis, was quoted in The Boston Globe
saying, “Suffolk claims to embody diversity and be a place for all
people, but this clearly is a speaker who does not embody those values.”
Other sources went further; the blog Mondoweiss honed in on the issue
of genocide denial with excerpts from National Lawyer’s Guild director
Heidi Boghosian’s interview on Law & Disorder radio in April. The
show’s co-host, Michael Smith, brought the issue into sharp relief:
"The Armenian Weekly," May 28, 2014
The Jewish establishment personified by
Abraham Foxman denies [the Armenian genocide]– why? Because in their
ideology the Jewish genocide which followed the Armenian genocide has to
be unique. Jews are the really sole victims. And they think if the
Armenian genocide is recognized it will somehow undercut their moral
authority in advocating for Jews and more broadly for the whole project
of the Jewish settlement and colonization of Palestine, its displacement
of the native Palestinians there and its ongoing oppression, really
apartheid, in Palestine. Foxman is the leading voice in America for
labelling people who criticize Israel as anti-Semites and if you’re
Jewish like I am, and you criticize Israel, then you’re a self-hating
Jew.
A Boston Globe op-ed titled, “Commencement Speakers: The
good, the ‘meh’, and the ugly” by Suffolk University alum Alex Pearlman
placed Foxman squarely in the “ugly” category:
Refusing to recognize the Armenian
genocide while being a Holocaust survivor is just bad etiquette, not to
mention Foxman’s controversial comments about the World Trade Center
“mosque.” The Anti-Defamation League is also an organization that
continues to conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, a position that
prohibits constructive debate about a two-state solution by shielding
the Israeli government from criticism of their actions in an occupied
Palestine. The Suffolk administration’s choice is a divisive one for the
campus, which has both strong Armenian and Muslim populations, and has
made commencement something to fight over instead of something to
celebrate in unity. As a Suffolk alumna, I think this is a terrible
choice.
Protesters outside the Wang Theater in Boston, where the commencement
address was held, took a similar view. The small group, composed of
Armenian and Jewish members of the community, distributed over 1,000
flyers to graduates and attendees detailing Foxman’s hypocrisy on the
Armenian genocide issue. The flyers offered an in-depth explanation of
the history of the conflict between the ADL and genocide scholars, as
well as outlining the ADL’s series of disingenuous statements on the
Armenian genocide, particularly in 2007 and 2008, which are still a
subject of controversy today.
Much has been made of Foxman’s calculated mention of the Armenian
genocide in his Suffolk address, which reeked of insincerity. A fleeting
reference in a commencement address is no substitute for a formal and
unambiguous statement issued by the ADL, which itself would be
meaningless unless combined with the absolute cessation of the ADL’s
insidious pro-Turkish lobbying.
After all, Foxman has shown himself capable of being quite frank when
he wants to be. When asked in a 2007 interview with JTA if he had “done
anything wrong” by engaging in a concerted effort against the
recognition of a genocide, Foxman said, “It was also very clear to me
that after the United States, the most important ally Israel has is
Turkey. It’s a country that not only has promised to provide Israel with
water until moshiach comes, but it’s a country that permits Israel’s
pilots to do maneuvers over its land. And so, to me, it was very clear
that there are two moral issues, but one trumps the other.” That is, his
issue trumps the Armenians’.
The Boston Globe published an op-ed from Foxman on May 20,
in which he discussed his choice to speak at Suffolk and how,
ultimately, it was about promoting the ideals of open and free debate.
Self-righteous and indignant, he lamented that disagreement with his
policy approaches, “…stifles conversation, it is exactly the opposite of
respect for freedom of expression that so many claim to be behind, and
which inevitably leads to a purist approach, which rejects compromise as
giving up one’s principles.”
These are lofty and rather surprising ideals coming from someone who
has worked tirelessly to enforce Turkey’s gag rule on discussion of the
Armenian genocide in the US. The ADL’s feeble argument against official
US recognition of the Armenian genocide has been that it would be
“counterproductive” to reconciliation efforts between Armenia and
Turkey. By that logic, the reparations paid by Germany after World War
II were surely counterproductive as well (an argument that I, as the
granddaughter of a recipient of these reparations, would never make). If
reconciliation is the sole and ultimate aim in any geopolitical
conflict, then the establishment of Israel could be seen to be extremely
“counterproductive.” Of course, this argument is fatuous because
reconciliation cannot occur when an issue is stripped of its historical
context, and reconciliation for its own sake is a worthless goal.
So it would seem that Foxman is for freedom of expression, as long as
it is not in opposition to his views, which “stifles conversation.”
Foxman is for reconciliation without counterproductive, pesky facts
getting in the way, as long as the issue is not one in which he feels he
holds a stake. It’s no wonder that Foxman is retiring in 2015; this
kind of tap dance is a young man’s game.
Suffolk University was roundly criticized in recent weeks for its
choice of commencement speaker. The president of the Suffolk University
chapter of the National Lawyer’s Guild, Amy Willis, was quoted in The Boston Globe
saying, “Suffolk claims to embody diversity and be a place for all
people, but this clearly is a speaker who does not embody those values.”
Other sources went further; the blog Mondoweiss honed in on the issue
of genocide denial with excerpts from National Lawyer’s Guild director
Heidi Boghosian’s interview on Law & Disorder radio in April. The
show’s co-host, Michael Smith, brought the issue into sharp relief:
The Jewish establishment personified by
Abraham Foxman denies [the Armenian genocide]– why? Because in their
ideology the Jewish genocide which followed the Armenian genocide has to
be unique. Jews are the really sole victims. And they think if the
Armenian genocide is recognized it will somehow undercut their moral
authority in advocating for Jews and more broadly for the whole project
of the Jewish settlement and colonization of Palestine, its displacement
of the native Palestinians there and its ongoing oppression, really
apartheid, in Palestine. Foxman is the leading voice in America for
labelling people who criticize Israel as anti-Semites and if you’re
Jewish like I am, and you criticize Israel, then you’re a self-hating
Jew.
A Boston Globe op-ed titled, “Commencement Speakers: The
good, the ‘meh’, and the ugly” by Suffolk University alum Alex Pearlman
placed Foxman squarely in the “ugly” category:
Refusing to recognize the Armenian
genocide while being a Holocaust survivor is just bad etiquette, not to
mention Foxman’s controversial comments about the World Trade Center
“mosque.” The Anti-Defamation League is also an organization that
continues to conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, a position that
prohibits constructive debate about a two-state solution by shielding
the Israeli government from criticism of their actions in an occupied
Palestine. The Suffolk administration’s choice is a divisive one for the
campus, which has both strong Armenian and Muslim populations, and has
made commencement something to fight over instead of something to
celebrate in unity. As a Suffolk alumna, I think this is a terrible
choice.
Protesters outside the Wang Theater in Boston, where the commencement
address was held, took a similar view. The small group, composed of
Armenian and Jewish members of the community, distributed over 1,000
flyers to graduates and attendees detailing Foxman’s hypocrisy on the
Armenian genocide issue. The flyers offered an in-depth explanation of
the history of the conflict between the ADL and genocide scholars, as
well as outlining the ADL’s series of disingenuous statements on the
Armenian genocide, particularly in 2007 and 2008, which are still a
subject of controversy today.
Much has been made of Foxman’s calculated mention of the Armenian
genocide in his Suffolk address, which reeked of insincerity. A fleeting
reference in a commencement address is no substitute for a formal and
unambiguous statement issued by the ADL, which itself would be
meaningless unless combined with the absolute cessation of the ADL’s
insidious pro-Turkish lobbying.
After all, Foxman has shown himself capable of being quite frank when
he wants to be. When asked in a 2007 interview with JTA if he had “done
anything wrong” by engaging in a concerted effort against the
recognition of a genocide, Foxman said, “It was also very clear to me
that after the United States, the most important ally Israel has is
Turkey. It’s a country that not only has promised to provide Israel with
water until moshiach comes, but it’s a country that permits Israel’s
pilots to do maneuvers over its land. And so, to me, it was very clear
that there are two moral issues, but one trumps the other.” That is, his
issue trumps the Armenians’.
The Boston Globe published an op-ed from Foxman on May 20,
in which he discussed his choice to speak at Suffolk and how,
ultimately, it was about promoting the ideals of open and free debate.
Self-righteous and indignant, he lamented that disagreement with his
policy approaches, “…stifles conversation, it is exactly the opposite of
respect for freedom of expression that so many claim to be behind, and
which inevitably leads to a purist approach, which rejects compromise as
giving up one’s principles.”
These are lofty and rather surprising ideals coming from someone who
has worked tirelessly to enforce Turkey’s gag rule on discussion of the
Armenian genocide in the US. The ADL’s feeble argument against official
US recognition of the Armenian genocide has been that it would be
“counterproductive” to reconciliation efforts between Armenia and
Turkey. By that logic, the reparations paid by Germany after World War
II were surely counterproductive as well (an argument that I, as the
granddaughter of a recipient of these reparations, would never make). If
reconciliation is the sole and ultimate aim in any geopolitical
conflict, then the establishment of Israel could be seen to be extremely
“counterproductive.” Of course, this argument is fatuous because
reconciliation cannot occur when an issue is stripped of its historical
context, and reconciliation for its own sake is a worthless goal.
So it would seem that Foxman is for freedom of expression, as long as
it is not in opposition to his views, which “stifles conversation.”
Foxman is for reconciliation without counterproductive, pesky facts
getting in the way, as long as the issue is not one in which he feels he
holds a stake. It’s no wonder that Foxman is retiring in 2015; this
kind of tap dance is a young man’s game.
"The Armenian Weekly," May 28, 2014
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