14.03.08

We are writing to express our shock, disbelief and horror at the statements attributed to Ambassador to Turkey Gaby Levy by the website of Sabah News (Turkey) that "what we [Israel] did in Gaza is not genocide just like there is no Armenian genocide." These statements were reportedly in response to comments made by Prime Minister Erdoghan of Turkey criticizing Israel�s response to the terror attacks from Gaza. We would like to believe that he was misquoted.
Ambassador Levy is insultingly wrong in denying the Armenian genocide. There is an overwhelming body of historical evidence from many separate and independent bodies of information to show that the mass atrocities experienced by the Armenians were a result of an intentional policy on the part of the Turkish government at the time. It is precisely this evidence of intent to kill and destroy, in whole or in part, as defined by the UN Convention on Genocide, which is why these atrocities constitute genocide. They were adjudged genocide by Raphael Lemkin, the person who gave the world the word-concept of genocide, and have been so adjudged by any number of impartial commissions and professional authorities, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
Israel�s ambassador is humiliatingly further misdirected on Gaza, where it is Hamas, an organization with a genocidal agenda, which is carrying out terror attacks aimed at killing, destroying and expelling the entire population. Israel is defending itself against the perpetrators of this genocidal agenda. The Grad rockets Hamas is now firing at population centers in Israel come from Iran which has expressed a sworn determination to wipe out the State of Israel.
Clearly Israel has never embarked on a genocidal program or action in Gaza, but for the ambassador to prove his point as it were by comparing Israel�s actions today in Gaza to the known genocidal activities of the Ottoman Turks against the Armenians and other non-Moslem minorities in 1915 and on is self-defeating in the extreme. The aim of Israel�s military actions in Gaza is to stop the genocidal terror aimed at the Israeli public. To link proof that Israel is not the aggressor in Gaza with a denial of the validity of the Armenian Genocide is seriously harmful to Israel. Ambassador Levy�s mission is not to revise historical truth, but to represent Israel with honor, self-respect, competence and integrity. He has failed the test on all counts. By publicly declaring his denial of the Armenian genocide, he paves the way for denial of all other genocidal threats, foremost of which are those now facing Israel.
Israel�s relationship with Turkey is a matter of vital importance to the two countries. But this relationship does not require public displays of obsequiousness and participation in genocide denial. It does require Ambassador Levy to advise Turkey of the genocidal threats from Hamas, and from Iran, its paymaster.
We call upon the Government to repudiate the remarks attributed to him.


Sincerely,

Prof. Yair Auron, PhD, Dept. of Sociology, Open University of Israel
Prof. Israel W. Charny, PhD (retired Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University), Executive Director, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem, Editor, Encyclopedia of Genocide
Prof. Elihu D. Richter, MD, MPH, Genocide Prevention Program, Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine

In April, 2010, AGMI organizes an international conference dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. The special focus of the conference will be on the cultural genocide of the Armenian heritage in Turkey.

In April 23, 2010, The Armenian genocide museum opens a temporary exhibition titled “Armenian genocide: frontpage coverage”. The exhibition includes rare century old newspapers and magazines covering Armenian genocide on their frontpages.

Ghazarosyan (Tumuchanyan) Havas was born in Kharberd (Province of Kharberd of Western Armenia), was a merchant. She was killed by the Turks in 1915.

March 11, 2010 Today the delegation headed by President of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Joao Soares visited Tsitsernakaberd ...

December 19, 2009 A group of Turkish journalists, who are in Armenia ...

November 21, 2009 The Chairman of the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions ...

October 30, 2009 Today the Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergey Martinov, visited to the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex ...

October 17, 2009 On October 16, the Association of the spouses of the foreign diplomats accredited in Armenia headed by Natalia Nalbandyan visited Tsitsernakaberd memorial of the ...

October 13, 2009 On October 13th of 2009, at 14:00, in the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute the presentation of the illustrated book of the AGMI director Mr. HAYK DEMOYAN, entitled “Armenian Sport and Gymnastics in the Ottoman Empire” ...

August 21, 2009 On August 17-21, 2009; the researcher of the AGMI Mr. Suren Manukyan took part in a conference in Cultural Studies; titled “The Cultural Life of Catastrophes and Crises”...

July 29, 2009 The representatives of Armenian and Turkish youth, “Tolerance through cultural and educational dialogues” program participants visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex ...