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PUSHING ISRAEL TO APOLOGIZE, WILL OBAMA ALSO PRESS ERDOGAN ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Huffington Post
April 11 2013
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Rabbi and Writer
Co-authored by Arash Farin
President Barack Obama's first trip to Israel since he became president
had the potential to yield many tangible results, not the least of
which could have been a demand on the part of the leader of the free
world that Hamas revoke its genocidal charter against Israel.
While it produced many inspirational moments, important symbolic
gestures, and an eloquent speech before the Jerusalem Convention
Center, its carefully staged photo opportunities seem, in retrospect,
to be somewhat ephemeral, and the pressure for Netanyahu to apologize
to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan ultimately, we believe,
counterproductive.
Israel and Turkey, of course, have had a tumultuous relationship in
recent years. Although the two countries were allies for many decades,
based on security ties, Erdogan has gone out of his way to cause
relations to deteriorate and antagonize Israelis. He has repeatedly
and unfairly condemned Israeli policy on every level, accused Israel
of crimes against humanity (after Israel's Operation Cast Lead in
response to Hamas' launching of rockets in 2008), and even stormed
out of a conversation with Shimon Peres at Davos in 2009, humiliating
the venerable Israeli leader and Nobel laureate. In November2012,
he accused Israel of state terrorism and of an "attempt at ethnic
cleansing." As another example of Erdogan's vitriol, in February of
this year, while speaking in Vienna at the official opening of the
fifth UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forums, he called Zionism
"a crime against humanity."
The distrust between the two countries culminated in May 2010,
when, in a brazen maneuver, a flotilla organized by the Free Gaza
Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and
Humanitarian Relief sought to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza -
designed exclusively to keep bombs out of Hamas terrorist hands -
and refused to allow inspections by Israeli forces. (IHH is known to
be a jihadist organization cloaked in the mantle of a charity, and it
is a member organization of Union for Good, whose president is Sheikh
Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood's top sharia jurist. The U.S.
Senate also voted in June 2010 to recommend that Obama investigate
IHH as a first step before labeling it a terrorist organization.)
Warnings from Israel to the Turkish flotilla to turn around were
ignored, and the militants on board, wearing orange life vests,
protective vests, and gas masks, attacked Israeli naval commandos
who boarded the ship. The Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, was full of
activists armed with iron bars and knives, a curious collection of
equipment for humanitarians delivering relief supplies. In the ensuing
standoff, as Israel tried to defend itself, tragically nine Turks died.
Had the flotilla succeeded in breaking the Gaza blockade, Israel could
have looked forward to even more bombs and rockets raining down on
its hospitals and nurseries.
In September 2011, a United Nations report mentioned "serious
questions about the conduct, true nature and objectives of the
flotilla organizers, particularly IHH." A BBC documentary also sided
with Israel, and determined that Israel had responded to a violent
premeditated attack. As further corroboration of the Turks' intent,
Israel released nearly 20 videos, made using night-vision technology,
that showed activists beating Israeli soldiers with metal pipes and
a chair and a soldier being pushed off the deck and thrown onto a
lower deck headfirst, nearly dying. Lastly, in June 2010, the Israeli
Ministry of Foreign Affairs released footage of a rally on board the
Mavi Marmara before the raid in which the IHH president declared to
dozens of activists, "And we say: 'If you [Israel] send the commandos,
we will throw you down from here to the sea and you will be humiliated
in front of the whole world.'" Participating passengers chant "millions
of martyrs marching to Gaza!"
While Obama's attempt to strengthen ties in the Middle East is
understandable, what is less logical is his attempt to strong-arm
Israel into apologizing and making concessions, as Erdogan outlined
a series of conditions for full normalization with Israel, including
compensation to the victims, and, more significantly, a lifting of
the naval blockade of Gaza.
The episode with the Mavi Marmara should have been part of Obama's
calculus during his trip, as it sheds light on Turkish behavior toward
Israel as well as on other examples of Turkey's stubborn denial of
historical facts, including its refusal to speak honestly about its
role in the Armenian genocide between 1915 and 1923, which resulted in
the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
If Obama were true to his word as a presidential candidate in 2008
and interested in a significant success in the Middle East, he should
have pushed Erdogan to reciprocate and apologize to the long-suffering
Armenians for this first genocide in modern history. As discussed
in a resolution by the House of Representatives, this massacre is
"documented with overwhelming evidence in the national archives of
Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, the United States,
the Vatican and many other countries..." To win support from Armenians
while running for office, Sen. Obama said on January 19, 2008, "Two
years ago, I criticized ... the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
John Evans, after he properly used the term 'genocide' to describe
Turkey's slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915.... The
Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a
point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an
overwhelming body of historical evidence... As a senator, I strongly
support passage of the Armenian genocide resolution, and as president
I will recognize the Armenian genocide."
But instead of working to fulfill his promise, President Obama and his
administration repeatedly have avoided the term "genocide," and worked
behind the scenes to prevent Congress from recognizing it. Indeed,
although in March 2010, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted
23-22 on a resolution to recognize the Armenian deaths officially, the
administration came out swinging. In Guatemala, she told reporters,
"The Obama administration strongly opposes the resolution that was
passed by only one vote by the House committee and will work very hard
to make sure it does not go to the House floor." According to the
Associated Press, "a senior Obama administration official, speaking
on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue,
said there was an understanding with the Democratic leadership in
Congress that the resolution would not go to a vote on the floor of
the House of Representatives."
After the vote, Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States
and warned the Obama administration about the ramifications if a vote
ever reached the House floor.
As displayed in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as Hitler
prepared to attack Poland without provocation in 1939, he dismissed
objections by saying "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation
of the Armenians?" setting the stage for the Holocaust. Ronald Reagan
recognized this threat in 1981 when he said, "like the genocide of
the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians, which
followed it -- and like too many other persecutions of too many other
people -- the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten."
More than 20 countries and 42 U.S. states already have recognized the
events of 1915 as genocide. As Obama seeks to shape his Middle East
policy and consider his legacy over the next four years, he should
consider the promises he made as a young candidate and recognize a
massacre that never should be forgotten.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, "America's Rabbi," has just published his newest
book, "The Fed-up Man of Faith: Challenging God in the Face of Tragedy
and Suffering." Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley. Arash Farin is
investment banker based in Los Angeles. He has degrees from The Wharton
School, Harvard Business School, and also attended Oxford University,
where he was President of Rabbi Shmuley's Oxford student organization.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuley-boteach/pushing-israel-to-apologi_b_3061585.html
Huffington Post
April 11 2013
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Rabbi and Writer
Co-authored by Arash Farin
President Barack Obama's first trip to Israel since he became president
had the potential to yield many tangible results, not the least of
which could have been a demand on the part of the leader of the free
world that Hamas revoke its genocidal charter against Israel.
While it produced many inspirational moments, important symbolic
gestures, and an eloquent speech before the Jerusalem Convention
Center, its carefully staged photo opportunities seem, in retrospect,
to be somewhat ephemeral, and the pressure for Netanyahu to apologize
to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan ultimately, we believe,
counterproductive.
Israel and Turkey, of course, have had a tumultuous relationship in
recent years. Although the two countries were allies for many decades,
based on security ties, Erdogan has gone out of his way to cause
relations to deteriorate and antagonize Israelis. He has repeatedly
and unfairly condemned Israeli policy on every level, accused Israel
of crimes against humanity (after Israel's Operation Cast Lead in
response to Hamas' launching of rockets in 2008), and even stormed
out of a conversation with Shimon Peres at Davos in 2009, humiliating
the venerable Israeli leader and Nobel laureate. In November2012,
he accused Israel of state terrorism and of an "attempt at ethnic
cleansing." As another example of Erdogan's vitriol, in February of
this year, while speaking in Vienna at the official opening of the
fifth UN Alliance of Civilizations Global Forums, he called Zionism
"a crime against humanity."
The distrust between the two countries culminated in May 2010,
when, in a brazen maneuver, a flotilla organized by the Free Gaza
Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and
Humanitarian Relief sought to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza -
designed exclusively to keep bombs out of Hamas terrorist hands -
and refused to allow inspections by Israeli forces. (IHH is known to
be a jihadist organization cloaked in the mantle of a charity, and it
is a member organization of Union for Good, whose president is Sheikh
Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood's top sharia jurist. The U.S.
Senate also voted in June 2010 to recommend that Obama investigate
IHH as a first step before labeling it a terrorist organization.)
Warnings from Israel to the Turkish flotilla to turn around were
ignored, and the militants on board, wearing orange life vests,
protective vests, and gas masks, attacked Israeli naval commandos
who boarded the ship. The Turkish ship, Mavi Marmara, was full of
activists armed with iron bars and knives, a curious collection of
equipment for humanitarians delivering relief supplies. In the ensuing
standoff, as Israel tried to defend itself, tragically nine Turks died.
Had the flotilla succeeded in breaking the Gaza blockade, Israel could
have looked forward to even more bombs and rockets raining down on
its hospitals and nurseries.
In September 2011, a United Nations report mentioned "serious
questions about the conduct, true nature and objectives of the
flotilla organizers, particularly IHH." A BBC documentary also sided
with Israel, and determined that Israel had responded to a violent
premeditated attack. As further corroboration of the Turks' intent,
Israel released nearly 20 videos, made using night-vision technology,
that showed activists beating Israeli soldiers with metal pipes and
a chair and a soldier being pushed off the deck and thrown onto a
lower deck headfirst, nearly dying. Lastly, in June 2010, the Israeli
Ministry of Foreign Affairs released footage of a rally on board the
Mavi Marmara before the raid in which the IHH president declared to
dozens of activists, "And we say: 'If you [Israel] send the commandos,
we will throw you down from here to the sea and you will be humiliated
in front of the whole world.'" Participating passengers chant "millions
of martyrs marching to Gaza!"
While Obama's attempt to strengthen ties in the Middle East is
understandable, what is less logical is his attempt to strong-arm
Israel into apologizing and making concessions, as Erdogan outlined
a series of conditions for full normalization with Israel, including
compensation to the victims, and, more significantly, a lifting of
the naval blockade of Gaza.
The episode with the Mavi Marmara should have been part of Obama's
calculus during his trip, as it sheds light on Turkish behavior toward
Israel as well as on other examples of Turkey's stubborn denial of
historical facts, including its refusal to speak honestly about its
role in the Armenian genocide between 1915 and 1923, which resulted in
the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
If Obama were true to his word as a presidential candidate in 2008
and interested in a significant success in the Middle East, he should
have pushed Erdogan to reciprocate and apologize to the long-suffering
Armenians for this first genocide in modern history. As discussed
in a resolution by the House of Representatives, this massacre is
"documented with overwhelming evidence in the national archives of
Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Russia, the United States,
the Vatican and many other countries..." To win support from Armenians
while running for office, Sen. Obama said on January 19, 2008, "Two
years ago, I criticized ... the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
John Evans, after he properly used the term 'genocide' to describe
Turkey's slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915.... The
Armenian genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a
point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an
overwhelming body of historical evidence... As a senator, I strongly
support passage of the Armenian genocide resolution, and as president
I will recognize the Armenian genocide."
But instead of working to fulfill his promise, President Obama and his
administration repeatedly have avoided the term "genocide," and worked
behind the scenes to prevent Congress from recognizing it. Indeed,
although in March 2010, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted
23-22 on a resolution to recognize the Armenian deaths officially, the
administration came out swinging. In Guatemala, she told reporters,
"The Obama administration strongly opposes the resolution that was
passed by only one vote by the House committee and will work very hard
to make sure it does not go to the House floor." According to the
Associated Press, "a senior Obama administration official, speaking
on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue,
said there was an understanding with the Democratic leadership in
Congress that the resolution would not go to a vote on the floor of
the House of Representatives."
After the vote, Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States
and warned the Obama administration about the ramifications if a vote
ever reached the House floor.
As displayed in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as Hitler
prepared to attack Poland without provocation in 1939, he dismissed
objections by saying "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation
of the Armenians?" setting the stage for the Holocaust. Ronald Reagan
recognized this threat in 1981 when he said, "like the genocide of
the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians, which
followed it -- and like too many other persecutions of too many other
people -- the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten."
More than 20 countries and 42 U.S. states already have recognized the
events of 1915 as genocide. As Obama seeks to shape his Middle East
policy and consider his legacy over the next four years, he should
consider the promises he made as a young candidate and recognize a
massacre that never should be forgotten.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, "America's Rabbi," has just published his newest
book, "The Fed-up Man of Faith: Challenging God in the Face of Tragedy
and Suffering." Follow him on Twitter @RabbiShmuley. Arash Farin is
investment banker based in Los Angeles. He has degrees from The Wharton
School, Harvard Business School, and also attended Oxford University,
where he was President of Rabbi Shmuley's Oxford student organization.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-shmuley-boteach/pushing-israel-to-apologi_b_3061585.html