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DISPUTE SPURS EARLY END TO LIBRARY'S HOLOCAUST EXHIBIT
By Gabriel H. Gluck
The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)
April 23, 2008 Wednesday
MORRIS EDITION
Anger over recent events at the Springfield Library resulted in the
removal yesterday of a Holocaust exhibit days ahead of schedule.
At the heart of the dispute is a debate that still rages over events
nearly a century ago, when more than 1.5 million Armenians died at
the hands of the Turks.
The debate over whether the Turks committed genocide in their massive
killings of Armenians is so politically charged that, while the
federal government will not officially use the word genocide to
describe the events of 1915-17, 40 of the 50 states have passed
resolutions recognizing the events as genocide.
Recently, President Bush called on members of Congress to stop pushing
the issue because of the effect it could have on American relations
with Turkey and logistical support for the U.S. military in Iraq.
Last year, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity produced a letter
signed by 53 Nobel laureates re-affirming historians' findings that
the killings constituted genocide.
But among those who dispute those conclusions is Guenter Lewy,
professor emeritus of political science at the University of
Massachusetts and author of "The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey:
A Disputed Genocide."
On Sunday, at the invitation of a Turkish-American group, Lewy spoke
at the township library in the room where a Holocaust exhibit was
on display.
The exhibit, "Survival of the Human Spirit: Triumph Over Adversity,"
is a traveling exhibit created by the Center for Holocaust Studies
at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft. The display, which
chronicles the experiences of Holocaust survivors from Monmouth and
Ocean counties, opened on March 16. It was to run through tomorrow. It
can also be seen online at www.springfieldpubliclibrary.com/joomla/
Last week, as word spread of Lewy's pending visit, objections started
to mount. At Thursday night's library board of trustees meeting,
there were members of the Armenian-American community calling upon
board members to cancel the event.
But that was not an option, said Susan Permahos, library director. The
courts have held that "the public library is a public forum" and
any attempt to stop Lewy would have abridged his constitutionally
protected rights to free speech, she said.
Dale Daniels, executive director of the Holocaust center, said
officials were troubled by Lewy's appearance in the same room as the
Holocaust exhibit.
"Denying the Armenian genocide is no different than denying the
Holocaust," Daniels said.
As a result, the center asked for permission to add a poster to its
exhibit regarding the dispute. While the library initially agreed,
Permahos concedes that when the poster appeared, board members felt
it was "inflammatory" and decided to remove it.
Daniels said that while members of the center would have attended
Sunday night's meeting - about 70 people did show - it was Passover and
icials could not attend. But when she discovered their Armenian poster
was removed, she felt the library had broken its word.
As a result, Daniels and center Director Sy Siegler drove up to
Springfield yesterday morning to remove the center's Holocaust exhibit.
"We could not stand by and allow that kind of denial to go on where
our survivors were hanging on the wall," Siegler said.
"It was nothing intentional," Permahos said. "The exhibit was a
wonderful exhibit."
If Lewy had been available next week to speak, the Holocaust exhibit
would have been gone. "This never would have happened," she said.
By Gabriel H. Gluck
The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)
April 23, 2008 Wednesday
MORRIS EDITION
Anger over recent events at the Springfield Library resulted in the
removal yesterday of a Holocaust exhibit days ahead of schedule.
At the heart of the dispute is a debate that still rages over events
nearly a century ago, when more than 1.5 million Armenians died at
the hands of the Turks.
The debate over whether the Turks committed genocide in their massive
killings of Armenians is so politically charged that, while the
federal government will not officially use the word genocide to
describe the events of 1915-17, 40 of the 50 states have passed
resolutions recognizing the events as genocide.
Recently, President Bush called on members of Congress to stop pushing
the issue because of the effect it could have on American relations
with Turkey and logistical support for the U.S. military in Iraq.
Last year, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity produced a letter
signed by 53 Nobel laureates re-affirming historians' findings that
the killings constituted genocide.
But among those who dispute those conclusions is Guenter Lewy,
professor emeritus of political science at the University of
Massachusetts and author of "The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey:
A Disputed Genocide."
On Sunday, at the invitation of a Turkish-American group, Lewy spoke
at the township library in the room where a Holocaust exhibit was
on display.
The exhibit, "Survival of the Human Spirit: Triumph Over Adversity,"
is a traveling exhibit created by the Center for Holocaust Studies
at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft. The display, which
chronicles the experiences of Holocaust survivors from Monmouth and
Ocean counties, opened on March 16. It was to run through tomorrow. It
can also be seen online at www.springfieldpubliclibrary.com/joomla/
Last week, as word spread of Lewy's pending visit, objections started
to mount. At Thursday night's library board of trustees meeting,
there were members of the Armenian-American community calling upon
board members to cancel the event.
But that was not an option, said Susan Permahos, library director. The
courts have held that "the public library is a public forum" and
any attempt to stop Lewy would have abridged his constitutionally
protected rights to free speech, she said.
Dale Daniels, executive director of the Holocaust center, said
officials were troubled by Lewy's appearance in the same room as the
Holocaust exhibit.
"Denying the Armenian genocide is no different than denying the
Holocaust," Daniels said.
As a result, the center asked for permission to add a poster to its
exhibit regarding the dispute. While the library initially agreed,
Permahos concedes that when the poster appeared, board members felt
it was "inflammatory" and decided to remove it.
Daniels said that while members of the center would have attended
Sunday night's meeting - about 70 people did show - it was Passover and
icials could not attend. But when she discovered their Armenian poster
was removed, she felt the library had broken its word.
As a result, Daniels and center Director Sy Siegler drove up to
Springfield yesterday morning to remove the center's Holocaust exhibit.
"We could not stand by and allow that kind of denial to go on where
our survivors were hanging on the wall," Siegler said.
"It was nothing intentional," Permahos said. "The exhibit was a
wonderful exhibit."
If Lewy had been available next week to speak, the Holocaust exhibit
would have been gone. "This never would have happened," she said.