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ARMENIAN FM ATTENDS JERUSALEM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA DEDICATED TO GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL
13:34, 06 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
On March 5 Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian was present at the
special concert of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra dedicated to
the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide bearing the title "With You,
Armenia."
During the concert of the fully-packed prestigious hall the
compositions of Komitas, Aram Khachatryan, Beethoven and Stepan
Rostomyan were performed.
In his speech before the concert streamed live on the Israeli Public
Radio Edward Nalbandian said:
"I have been in the Holy city of Jerusalem several times, always
feeling very special about it. Today's symbolism is particular. The
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra is dedicating its concert to the Centenary
of the Armenian Genocide, and I would like to thank all those who
worked hard for creating this opportunity.
Few nations have as many similarities as the Armenians and Jews. After
several centuries of stateless existence and sufferings, scattering
around the world, the fate-sharing of surviving the horrors of
Genocide, we pride ourselves of re-establishing statehood in the
20th century.
I would like to repeat what one of the Jewish witnesses of the Armenian
Genocide yet in 1915 said: "My teeth have been ground down with worry,
whose turn is next? When I walked on the blessed and holy ground on
my way up to Jerusalem, I asked myself if we are living in our modern
era, in 1915, or in the days of Titus or Nebuchadnezzar?
Did I, a Jew, forget that I am a Jew? I also asked myself if I have
the right to weep 'over the tragedy of my people' only, and whether
the Prophet Jeremiah did not shed tears of blood for the Armenians
as well?"
And it is widely acknowledged that it might have been possible to
prevent the crimes committed under the veil of World War II had
the crimes against humanity committed during the World War I earned
unequivocal international condemnation, and had those responsible for
them been duly punished. Adolf Hitler's quotation from August 1939
"Who still talks nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians?"
stands as a sober reminder that the impunity and the denial of
committed genocide provide a solid ground for its recurrence in
other places.
The full acknowledgement of committed genocides is one of the most
effective tools for the prevention of their reoccurrence in the
future. The right of people to their memory, their right to knowledge
of the past tragedies through remembrance has a vital role on the
way to preventing new genocides.
In this regard the peoples of Armenia and Israel are very well aware
and share the pain they have suffered in the past. Armenians have
one of the highest Holocaust awareness around the world. According to
the recent UNESCO report, Armenia is the only country in the region
where school curriculum includes the direct reference to the Holocaust.
Those of you who visited Yad Vashem must have read the names of
Armenians who saved Jews during the Holocaust and got the honorable
title of the "righteous among the nations". A recent survey by
the Foundation of Shoah Memory showed that 88% of Jews in Israel
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, and this is one of the highest in
the world.
Dear friends,
Earlier today I had the honor of being received by His Excellency
President Reuven Rivlin. The shared responsibility of our nations
in preventing genocides, crimes against humanity was one of the main
issues of our discussion.
And here I would like to thank Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize
Winner Elie Wiesel, eminent professors Israel Charny, Yair Auron,
and many other Jewish scholars, whose works on Armenian and Jewish
genocides are highly appreciated throughout the world.
There is another important similarity between our nations. Despite
attempts of total extermination of our two peoples, we have found
regeneration. It would be a challenging mission for anyone who dares
to count the talented artists, musicians, scientists, successful
business-people, who have made their great input in the development
of their respective fields in the 20th and 21st centuries. In fact,
one of the key messages of the commemoration of the Centenary of the
Armenian Genocide is the regeneration.
The mere fact that the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra has included in
its programs the works of Armenian and Jewish composers of the 20th
and 21st century is a clear proof of that regeneration."
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/06/armenian-fm-attends-jerusalem-symphony-orchestra-dedicated-to-genocide-centennial/
13:34, 06 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
On March 5 Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian was present at the
special concert of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra dedicated to
the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide bearing the title "With You,
Armenia."
During the concert of the fully-packed prestigious hall the
compositions of Komitas, Aram Khachatryan, Beethoven and Stepan
Rostomyan were performed.
In his speech before the concert streamed live on the Israeli Public
Radio Edward Nalbandian said:
"I have been in the Holy city of Jerusalem several times, always
feeling very special about it. Today's symbolism is particular. The
Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra is dedicating its concert to the Centenary
of the Armenian Genocide, and I would like to thank all those who
worked hard for creating this opportunity.
Few nations have as many similarities as the Armenians and Jews. After
several centuries of stateless existence and sufferings, scattering
around the world, the fate-sharing of surviving the horrors of
Genocide, we pride ourselves of re-establishing statehood in the
20th century.
I would like to repeat what one of the Jewish witnesses of the Armenian
Genocide yet in 1915 said: "My teeth have been ground down with worry,
whose turn is next? When I walked on the blessed and holy ground on
my way up to Jerusalem, I asked myself if we are living in our modern
era, in 1915, or in the days of Titus or Nebuchadnezzar?
Did I, a Jew, forget that I am a Jew? I also asked myself if I have
the right to weep 'over the tragedy of my people' only, and whether
the Prophet Jeremiah did not shed tears of blood for the Armenians
as well?"
And it is widely acknowledged that it might have been possible to
prevent the crimes committed under the veil of World War II had
the crimes against humanity committed during the World War I earned
unequivocal international condemnation, and had those responsible for
them been duly punished. Adolf Hitler's quotation from August 1939
"Who still talks nowadays of the extermination of the Armenians?"
stands as a sober reminder that the impunity and the denial of
committed genocide provide a solid ground for its recurrence in
other places.
The full acknowledgement of committed genocides is one of the most
effective tools for the prevention of their reoccurrence in the
future. The right of people to their memory, their right to knowledge
of the past tragedies through remembrance has a vital role on the
way to preventing new genocides.
In this regard the peoples of Armenia and Israel are very well aware
and share the pain they have suffered in the past. Armenians have
one of the highest Holocaust awareness around the world. According to
the recent UNESCO report, Armenia is the only country in the region
where school curriculum includes the direct reference to the Holocaust.
Those of you who visited Yad Vashem must have read the names of
Armenians who saved Jews during the Holocaust and got the honorable
title of the "righteous among the nations". A recent survey by
the Foundation of Shoah Memory showed that 88% of Jews in Israel
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, and this is one of the highest in
the world.
Dear friends,
Earlier today I had the honor of being received by His Excellency
President Reuven Rivlin. The shared responsibility of our nations
in preventing genocides, crimes against humanity was one of the main
issues of our discussion.
And here I would like to thank Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize
Winner Elie Wiesel, eminent professors Israel Charny, Yair Auron,
and many other Jewish scholars, whose works on Armenian and Jewish
genocides are highly appreciated throughout the world.
There is another important similarity between our nations. Despite
attempts of total extermination of our two peoples, we have found
regeneration. It would be a challenging mission for anyone who dares
to count the talented artists, musicians, scientists, successful
business-people, who have made their great input in the development
of their respective fields in the 20th and 21st centuries. In fact,
one of the key messages of the commemoration of the Centenary of the
Armenian Genocide is the regeneration.
The mere fact that the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra has included in
its programs the works of Armenian and Jewish composers of the 20th
and 21st century is a clear proof of that regeneration."
http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/03/06/armenian-fm-attends-jerusalem-symphony-orchestra-dedicated-to-genocide-centennial/