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CITY'S TOLERANCE COMMISSION MOVES FORWARD WITHOUT ADL
By Gillian Swart/[email protected]
Newburyport Current, MA
Feb 7 2008
The city has now officially withdrawn from "No Place for Hate"
certification by the Anti-Defamation League, but the Commission for
Diversity and Tolerance is continuing on its anti-bias and diversity
mission using other relationships and resources.
"I am proud of the accomplishments of the Anti-Defamation League
and the No Place for Hate program over the past seven years since
Newburyport joined in September 2000," wrote Mayor John Moak to Meg
Rose of the ADL last week. "However, in the wake of last fall's
national spotlight on the ADL and its failure to acknowledge the
Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923 as anything other than
'tantamount to genocide,' and in support of the approximate 5,000
Armenian residents in Merrimack Valley, the prudent course of action
is to withdraw our membership."
The Rev. Beth Horne and Jan DeSantis, co-chairwomen of the city
commission, said losing the resources available through No Place for
Hate is substantial but the group is forging ahead.
"The ADL really has wonderful programs that we were able to tap into
at no charge," Horne said.
The commission also took advantage of the anti-bias training offered
through its "A World of Difference" program.
But as both she and DeSantis are trained as anti-bias trainers,
the commission can host the training itself.
"In some ways we're learning to do things differently," Horne said.
"It was a long relationship and we benefited in many ways from their
anti-bias work."
The city commission will still work with city government, the schools
and the police toward creating a tolerant atmosphere in the city and
supporting victims of discrimination and bias. There will still be
the yearly Peace Month activities, the Peace Prize and the mini-grants.
DeSantis said they are also looking at starting a speaker series and
may host concerts throughout the year.
The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation
of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to
all." The ADL has 30 satellite and regional offices in the U.S. and
around the world.
No Place for Hate was created through collaboration between the New
England ADL and the Massachusetts Municipal Association. Newburyport
has been part of the program since 2000 and established the municipal
commission in 2005. Its membership reflects is mission of anti-bias
and includes leaders in education, religion, law enforcement, social
services, industry, commerce and labor.
The commission decided to make its recommendation to the mayor
after the ADL failed to support a Congressional bill condemning the
killing of more than 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Andrew
Tarsy, the former regional director of ADL, called for the national
organization to officially recognize the killing as genocide; he was
fired, re-hired and then left the organization.
Horne said the final decision on whether to sever the ties to the ADL
was deferred until the ADL made its position on the genocide clear
at its November conference.
"We didn't make any recommendations until after the conference,"
DeSantis said.
A copy of Moak's letter, dated Feb. 1, has been forwarded to the
City Council.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/newburyport/h omepage/x1107265820
By Gillian Swart/[email protected]
Newburyport Current, MA
Feb 7 2008
The city has now officially withdrawn from "No Place for Hate"
certification by the Anti-Defamation League, but the Commission for
Diversity and Tolerance is continuing on its anti-bias and diversity
mission using other relationships and resources.
"I am proud of the accomplishments of the Anti-Defamation League
and the No Place for Hate program over the past seven years since
Newburyport joined in September 2000," wrote Mayor John Moak to Meg
Rose of the ADL last week. "However, in the wake of last fall's
national spotlight on the ADL and its failure to acknowledge the
Armenian Genocide between 1915 and 1923 as anything other than
'tantamount to genocide,' and in support of the approximate 5,000
Armenian residents in Merrimack Valley, the prudent course of action
is to withdraw our membership."
The Rev. Beth Horne and Jan DeSantis, co-chairwomen of the city
commission, said losing the resources available through No Place for
Hate is substantial but the group is forging ahead.
"The ADL really has wonderful programs that we were able to tap into
at no charge," Horne said.
The commission also took advantage of the anti-bias training offered
through its "A World of Difference" program.
But as both she and DeSantis are trained as anti-bias trainers,
the commission can host the training itself.
"In some ways we're learning to do things differently," Horne said.
"It was a long relationship and we benefited in many ways from their
anti-bias work."
The city commission will still work with city government, the schools
and the police toward creating a tolerant atmosphere in the city and
supporting victims of discrimination and bias. There will still be
the yearly Peace Month activities, the Peace Prize and the mini-grants.
DeSantis said they are also looking at starting a speaker series and
may host concerts throughout the year.
The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 "to stop the defamation
of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to
all." The ADL has 30 satellite and regional offices in the U.S. and
around the world.
No Place for Hate was created through collaboration between the New
England ADL and the Massachusetts Municipal Association. Newburyport
has been part of the program since 2000 and established the municipal
commission in 2005. Its membership reflects is mission of anti-bias
and includes leaders in education, religion, law enforcement, social
services, industry, commerce and labor.
The commission decided to make its recommendation to the mayor
after the ADL failed to support a Congressional bill condemning the
killing of more than 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. Andrew
Tarsy, the former regional director of ADL, called for the national
organization to officially recognize the killing as genocide; he was
fired, re-hired and then left the organization.
Horne said the final decision on whether to sever the ties to the ADL
was deferred until the ADL made its position on the genocide clear
at its November conference.
"We didn't make any recommendations until after the conference,"
DeSantis said.
A copy of Moak's letter, dated Feb. 1, has been forwarded to the
City Council.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/newburyport/h omepage/x1107265820