1989_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 1989

              December 1989
Hve Sharzhoom
FEATURES.    Page 5
The Jewish Armenian Resolution
A behind the scenes look
By Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Advisor
The effort for passage of the
Armenian Genocide resolution in the
Senate was strengthened with the
passage of a Jewish resolution in favor
of the recognition of the Armenian
genocide passed at the November 6,
1989 convention of the Union of
American Hebrew Congregations.
Rabbi Kenneth I. Segel of Fresno's
Temple Beth Israel and Temple
President Marc Wilson were the key
players in the unfolding events.
The drama began in late October of
this year. The Board of Directors of
Temple Beth Israel had agreed to
support a resolution commending the
executive committee of the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum in
Washington, D.C. for its decision to
include reference to the Armeian
genocide in the museum. The Jecision
to support such a resolution came
about through the frienship of Rabbi
Segel and Reverend Roger Minassian
of the Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church of Fresno. Rev.
Minassian had mentioned the genocide
of the Armenians to Rabbi Segel in the
course of their conversations, and the
Rabbi Segel felt compelled to educate
himself and his congregtaion about the
Genocide.
In preparation for the convention,
to be held in New Orleans the first
week of November, the Temple
members invited Barlow Der
Mugrdechian of the Armenian Studies
Program to come to speak on the
Armenian     genocide     on     Sunday,
October 22, 1989. In a two hour
presentation the history of the
genocide and Turkish-Armenian
relations since the late 19th century
were discussed. Reference was made to
the 1894-1896 massacres against the
Armenians by Sultan Abdul Hamid II,
which were a precursor of the
genocide. Excerpts from eyewitness
accounts of the genocide were read,
vividly and often shockingly
describing the pain and suffering of
the Armenians as a result of the
deportations and the genocide. During
the question and answer period which
followed the talk, mention was also
made of the position of the
government of Israel, which in the
past, specifically in 1982 in Tel Aviv,
had pressured scholars not to discuss
the Armenia Genocide.
The next morning, in a startling
coincidence, the Fresno Bee reported
that Israel had asked influential Jewish
organizations to lobby against the
passage Senate resolution 212
commemorating the Genocide. Later
that same day, Rabbi Segel at a press
conference discussed his position on
Hie Bee article.
"About three months ago our
congregation, through a unanimous
vote of our board of directors,
submitted a resolution to the UAHC
which in its form indicated our
concern, deep concern, over the
Turkish desire to negate, deny, and
repudiate, the reality of the Armenian
Genocide, this monstrous tragedy that
befell the Armenian communituy. And
we wanted to speak out against this
historical   revisionism,   this   outright
mockery of history." He described the
issue of the passage of the April 24th
resoluton in the Senate as a "moral
issue" and that he was prepared "to
walk out of that conventiuon in New
Orleans if our resolution is not
passed."
Temple President Wilson said, "...If
we are going to be intimidated then
there really is no one left to stand up.
It is a shame that it has become such a
fight in Congress."
In the following few days, in
preparation for the convention, the
Armenian Studies Program and the
Armenian Assembly of America
provided additional background
information for the Fresno delegates.
Letters to the editor and articles about
the convention filled the Fresno Bee ,
as religion writer John G. Taylor was
sent to New Orleans to cover the
efforts of the Fresno delegation. His
coverage of the convention was both
sensitive and informed.
Although ignorance of the genocide
was the main foe to be fought, it was
by no means a foregone conclusion
that the resolution was going to pass.
A turning point was the support of
Convention President Rabbi
Alexander Schindler, who two years
earlier had commented on the
monstrous aspect of the Armenian
genocide. Efforts of the Fresno group
were spurred by the positive reporting
and support of Yo'av Karny of Ha'aretz
(a leading Isreali daily) and later on
Sunday night by the speech delivered
by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, to
the convention, where he was being
honored    for   his    service    to    the
Early Armenian history reviewed
By Satenig Ohar nessian
Staff Writer
"Armenia Between East and West
The Classical World Versus Iran" was
the subject of Dr. Dickran Kouymjian's
lecture on Wednesday, October 25.
This lecture was one of a series
sponsored by the Classical Society
and the Classical Studies Program of
California State University, Fresno.
Kouymjian's lecture was of the
history of the Armenians beginning in
520 B.C. to the first century A.D.
Kouymjian described Armenia as
having been a nation "functioning on
a schizophrenic level." He described
Armenia as a conglomerate of
personalities.
Because of Armenia's location, she
was susceptible to different cultures
and influences by, her neighbors,
namely to the east, the Iranian world
and to the west, the Greek world. Dr
Kouymjian said that the Greeks and the
Iranians had a certain "pull" on
Armenia "through their artworks,
either objects, monuments, or
paintings executed in Armenia."
Through slides, Kouymjian illustrated
both the Greek and Iranian influence in
Armenian culture.
Historically, Armenia was
constantly attacked, forced into
choosing sides, and because of this
had constant interactions with other
peoples, especially the Greeks and
Iranians, and had made friendly
contacts. Due to these factors, according to Kouymjian, Armenia
became a complex culture.
Book Review
By Janice Caprelian
Staff Writer
"Lousy veddher never see," Petey's
father says in David Kherdian's book,
A Song For Uncle Harry. (Philomel
Books, New York, 1989).
In the book, Petey explains his
father's dislike for the Wisconsin
weather with the quote above, which
combines lousy and weather in the
same breath. As Kherdian writes, "One
thing is certain: there is no bad air or
water in Armenia."
The setting of the book is
Wisconsin in the early 1930's. The
Armenian-American boy Petey, and
his beloved, if a bit eccentric, Uncle
Harry, have a close relationship. The
book illustrates the surprising warmth
and tenderness that the two share. In a
scene where both grieve for a lost
relative while eating Eskimo bars,
Uncle Harry confides his feelings to
Petey. As the uncle discusses his
sister's death, he states, "There is no
death there are only possibilities. The
possiblity of my sister. The
possibility for my sister-this time, in
this life are finished, but the river of
life flows on. Do you understand?"
By the end of the book, after Uncle
Harry has gotten married in Chicago
and Petey begins to develop a close
relationship with his father, he
begins, to understand his uncle's
words. Petey recognizes that love has
to change in order for love to remain,
and begins to look at the world in a
new way.
The Newberry Honor Book author
David Kherdian, shares the publication
of his book with his wife Nonny
Hogrogian, a two-time Caldecott
medalist, whose book illustrations
capture the- close relationship that
Petey and Uncle Harry shared.
A Song for Uncle Harry, written for
children between 8-12 years, will
inspire your child with the warmth and
tenderness that Petey and Uncle Harry
share together.
community.
At the end of his speech Levin said,
"You will be considering a resolution
commemorating the Armenian
genocide. A Senate resolution acknowledging that genocide has become
controversial because the current
Turkish government is lobbying
against it. Why they are lobbying us
relative to events that occured 75 years
ago is their business. But it is our
business to join the Armenian com-
muntiy and the world in remembering
the Armenian genocide..."
"I hope it is not inappropriate to
say that you can best remember by
using the word genocide in your
resolution. That is the heart of the
matter. In that way, you will give a
people that has been close to us
historically our support as they
commemorate their genocide and seek
the world's acknowledgement of it"
The persistence of Rabi Segel and
his wife Sandra, of congregation President Marc Wilson, and sisterhood
president Robin Fox were instrumetnal
in the eventual passage of the Jewish
sponsored Armenian Genocide
Resolution. An exhilirated Segel
returned to Fresno and reported on his
activities to the Armenian community.
As John Taylor said in the Fresno
Bee , "A combination of boldness,
publicity, and luck assuredly came into
play on the genocide resolution. But
stamped over and atop efforts to press
forward the memory of the millions
killed, whom some wished would be
forgotten, is one statement by Segel:
It was the morally right thing to do.''"
A Song for Uncle Harry
Armenian genocide resolution
This is the exact text of the Armenian genocide resolution
passed unanimously by the Union of American Hebrew
Congregations.
Title: 1915 genoddt of over 1 million Armenians.
The massacre of over 1.5 million Armenians beginning in 1915
by the Ottoman Turks and the subsequent exile of an additional
500,000 Armenians is one of the most shameful chapters of modern history.
Elie Wiesel, a past U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council chairman, said, "Before the planning of the final solution, Hitler said,
cWho remembers the Armenians.' He was right. No one remembered them, as no one remembered the Jews. Rejected by everyone, they felt expelled from history."
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Executive Council has
unanimously agreed to include reference to the Armenian and
other genocides to help illuminate or relate to the story of the
holocaust.
We recognize that the Turkey of today is vastly different from
the Ottoman Empire of 1915. Our respect for modern Turkey's
traditions of pluralism should not deter us from learning the lessons of past mistakes.
This genocide is one of those instances of mass destruction
which has both preceded and followed the holocaust to which
the UAJfLC. has drawn notice over the years, that their lessons
might not be forgotten (among them Biafra and Cambodia).
Therefore, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations resolves to:
1. Commend the executive committee of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum for its announced decision to include reference to the Armenian and other genocides to the extent that
they help illuminate or relate to the story of the holocaust.
2. Instruct the reform movement's Religious Action Center in
Washington to encourage passage of SJ Resolution 212, a
joint resolution now before the U.S. Senate designating April
24,1990 as "National Day of Remembrance of the 75th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923."
3. Educate our congregants as to the facts and the lessons of
these tragic chapters of modern history.
Fresno Bee
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