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JEWISH GROUP OPPOSES ARMENIAN 'GENOCIDE' BILL
Hurriyet
March 2 2010
Turkey
Turkey's newly appointed ambassador to Washington has dived into a busy
schedule to prevent the passage of the Armenian "genocide" bill in his
first days in office and received support from a Jewish organization.
Ambassador Namık Tan met with "the representatives of almost all
Jewish lobbies and organizations in Washington" over the weekend,
according to sources in the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C.
According to the same sources, Tan met with the representatives of
"eight or 10 Jewish organizations," including the Anti-Defamation
League, or ADL; American Jewish Community, or AJC; and B'nai B'rith
International. They say the meetings are not only focused on the
Armenian "genocide" bill.
A day after his meetings, the Jewish Institute for National Security
Affairs, or JINSA, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that
addresses the security requirements of both the U.S. and Israel,
released a report titled, "The Armenian Resolution Should be Opposed
and Defeated."
"As the Turkish government began to slide -- and then rush -- away
from its relationship with Israel and slide -- and then rush --
toward new accommodations with Syria and Iran, the Jewish community
has become less inclined to use its organizational skill on behalf of
the agenda of a country that is less inclined toward the Western side
of the great divide. It doesn't help that the Turkish 'request' for
'help' has begun to sound more like a threat of damage yet to come,"
the report said.
However, it concluded that "to the extent that either side believed
opposition to the resolution was a test of loyalty, or tied it to
extraneous issues, they made a mistake. The Armenian resolution -driven
largely by the Armenian-American community- should be opposed and
defeated. But the reasons stand without regard to the [increasingly
difficult] behavior of the Turkish government and without regard
to [increasingly difficult] Turkish-Israeli or Turkish-American
relations."
Tan already met with the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, Howard Berman last week as well as several key members of
the House, the embassy source confirmed. He also met with the Turkish
associations working in the United States last week.
Hurriyet
March 2 2010
Turkey
Turkey's newly appointed ambassador to Washington has dived into a busy
schedule to prevent the passage of the Armenian "genocide" bill in his
first days in office and received support from a Jewish organization.
Ambassador Namık Tan met with "the representatives of almost all
Jewish lobbies and organizations in Washington" over the weekend,
according to sources in the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C.
According to the same sources, Tan met with the representatives of
"eight or 10 Jewish organizations," including the Anti-Defamation
League, or ADL; American Jewish Community, or AJC; and B'nai B'rith
International. They say the meetings are not only focused on the
Armenian "genocide" bill.
A day after his meetings, the Jewish Institute for National Security
Affairs, or JINSA, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that
addresses the security requirements of both the U.S. and Israel,
released a report titled, "The Armenian Resolution Should be Opposed
and Defeated."
"As the Turkish government began to slide -- and then rush -- away
from its relationship with Israel and slide -- and then rush --
toward new accommodations with Syria and Iran, the Jewish community
has become less inclined to use its organizational skill on behalf of
the agenda of a country that is less inclined toward the Western side
of the great divide. It doesn't help that the Turkish 'request' for
'help' has begun to sound more like a threat of damage yet to come,"
the report said.
However, it concluded that "to the extent that either side believed
opposition to the resolution was a test of loyalty, or tied it to
extraneous issues, they made a mistake. The Armenian resolution -driven
largely by the Armenian-American community- should be opposed and
defeated. But the reasons stand without regard to the [increasingly
difficult] behavior of the Turkish government and without regard
to [increasingly difficult] Turkish-Israeli or Turkish-American
relations."
Tan already met with the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, Howard Berman last week as well as several key members of
the House, the embassy source confirmed. He also met with the Turkish
associations working in the United States last week.