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Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
May 27 2014
Armenians accuse Israeli government of indifference to xenophobia
27 May 2014 - 9:12am
By Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
The Armenian Cultural Society in Israel has accused the government of
inability to fight anti-Armenian sentiment. The press secretary of the
Society, Mendel Korsunsky, recalled an incident that happened in 2008
when a young religious Jew spat on Armenian seminarian Oganes
Martirosyan. The latter had beaten up the spitter.
Members of the Armenian community could not recall any other case of
"anti-Armenian sentiment in Israel," apart from this case, which
happened six years ago. They seem to be forgetting the fact that the
Jew was sentenced for what he had done and Oganes Martirosyan was not
punished. If anything similar had happened between two Jews, both
would have been sentenced and the one fighting would have been
punished a lot more severely for the inappropriate reaction and
injuries.
Such a peculiar declaration by the Armenian Cultural Society in Israel
has a simple explanation: its authorities were outraged by the latest
report by the Anti-Defamation League (a human rights organization
preventing anti-Semitism and other intolerance forms). The document
puts Armenia at the top of the list of the most anti-Semitic countries
of the world. According to the report, 58% of the modern Armenian
population express anti-Semitism, considering that there are no more
than 1,000 Jews living in Armenia, according to official data.
Attempting to alter the report, Armenian activists living in Israel
accused Rabbi Abraham Foxman, the head of the Anti-Defamation League,
of Armenophobia. Calling Foxman "a pro-Turkish lobbyist of the U.S.,"
the Armenian Cultural Society reminds that in 2007 he was one of the
most fierce opponents of the 106th resolution of the U.S. Congress on
recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. He was accused by Shavo
Melkonyan, the head of the Armenian National Committee of Eastern
Massachusetts, of denying the Armenian Genocide.
Korsunsky assures that Armenia has no anti-Semitic sentiment, it only
has "anti-Israeli" sentiment provoked by the refusal of Israel to
recognize the Armenian Genocide and its military support of
Azerbaijan. However, he forgets that, according to all experts, modern
anti-Semitism is most often used to hide "disagreement with the policy
of modern Israel." The word "Jews" is then replaced with "Israelis",
"Israeli Jews" or "Zionists." So the declaration of the Armenian
Cultural Society has basically reconfirmed the report of the
Anti-Defamation League instead of proving it wrong.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/55714.html
May 27 2014
Armenians accuse Israeli government of indifference to xenophobia
27 May 2014 - 9:12am
By Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
The Armenian Cultural Society in Israel has accused the government of
inability to fight anti-Armenian sentiment. The press secretary of the
Society, Mendel Korsunsky, recalled an incident that happened in 2008
when a young religious Jew spat on Armenian seminarian Oganes
Martirosyan. The latter had beaten up the spitter.
Members of the Armenian community could not recall any other case of
"anti-Armenian sentiment in Israel," apart from this case, which
happened six years ago. They seem to be forgetting the fact that the
Jew was sentenced for what he had done and Oganes Martirosyan was not
punished. If anything similar had happened between two Jews, both
would have been sentenced and the one fighting would have been
punished a lot more severely for the inappropriate reaction and
injuries.
Such a peculiar declaration by the Armenian Cultural Society in Israel
has a simple explanation: its authorities were outraged by the latest
report by the Anti-Defamation League (a human rights organization
preventing anti-Semitism and other intolerance forms). The document
puts Armenia at the top of the list of the most anti-Semitic countries
of the world. According to the report, 58% of the modern Armenian
population express anti-Semitism, considering that there are no more
than 1,000 Jews living in Armenia, according to official data.
Attempting to alter the report, Armenian activists living in Israel
accused Rabbi Abraham Foxman, the head of the Anti-Defamation League,
of Armenophobia. Calling Foxman "a pro-Turkish lobbyist of the U.S.,"
the Armenian Cultural Society reminds that in 2007 he was one of the
most fierce opponents of the 106th resolution of the U.S. Congress on
recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. He was accused by Shavo
Melkonyan, the head of the Armenian National Committee of Eastern
Massachusetts, of denying the Armenian Genocide.
Korsunsky assures that Armenia has no anti-Semitic sentiment, it only
has "anti-Israeli" sentiment provoked by the refusal of Israel to
recognize the Armenian Genocide and its military support of
Azerbaijan. However, he forgets that, according to all experts, modern
anti-Semitism is most often used to hide "disagreement with the policy
of modern Israel." The word "Jews" is then replaced with "Israelis",
"Israeli Jews" or "Zionists." So the declaration of the Armenian
Cultural Society has basically reconfirmed the report of the
Anti-Defamation League instead of proving it wrong.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/55714.html