Why Israel must stand with Armenia - Jerusalem Post

[gültekin]

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/armen...iticism-457072

A controversial monument to an Armenian nationalist who led a military unit which served under Nazi command in World War II that was recently erected in the Armenian capital of Yerevan has drawn criticism in recent days.
The statue is of Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan, better known by his nom de guerre Garegin Nzhdeh, an Armenian nationalist who sought independence first from the Ottoman Empire and then from Soviet domination.
During WWII however, Nzhdeh (1886– 1955) collaborated with the Nazis and put the Armenian Legion, numbering some 30,000 men, at the disposal of the Nazi command.
The Armenian Legion operated both in the Crimean peninsula and in the Caucasus region fighting against the Soviet Red Army, while a detachment also fought in southern France against the Allied forces.
Last month, a statue of Nzhdeh was unveiled in a central square of Yerevan.
According to the Azerbaijan Press Agency, Deputy Speaker of Armenian Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov described Nzhdeh as “a national hero,” a “patriot” who struggled for Armenian independence.
Russian Foreign Ministry official Maria Zakharova said last week following the unveiling of the monument that “Everyone knows about Russia’s negative attitude toward manifestations of neo-Nazism and glorification of criminals, and this attitude is unchangeable,” the APA reported. “It is not clear to us why that monument was erected.”
Nazi-hunter and Holocaust scholar Dr. Efraim Zuroff told The Jerusalem Post that Nzhdeh had indeed collaborated with the Nazis as one of the commanders of the Armenian Legion in Crimea and the Caucasus.
He said that it was unclear if the Armenian Legion participated in any atrocities during the Holocaust but said that Nzhdeh and his military unit should be condemned for fighting with the Nazis.
“The fact that they built the statue is quite outrageous,” said Zuroff. “We must object to any glorification of individuals who fought with the Nazis or extended any assistance to the forces of the Third Reich.”
Zuroff said that there is a problematic phenomenon in Eastern Europe at the moment in which history is being rewritten to minimize local collaboration with the Nazis.
He added that there is also an attempt to equate the evils of both the Nazi and Soviet regimes in order to justify the collaboration that took place in Eastern European states with the Nazis, and which is presented as national movements against Soviet control.
“This is therefore an unfortunate mistake and is an insult to the victims of the Nazis and all those who fought against the Nazis,” said Zuroff.
An avenue, a large square and a nearby metro station in Yerevan are named after Nzhdeh. A village in Armenia’s southern Syunik province is also named after him.

[Armenian Bishop]

Beyond the rough and tumble on Capitol Hill is another development that reflects another group’s new willingness to acknowledge the atrocity inflicted upon the Armenians: the growing support of a number of influential Jewish groups to recognize what happened as a genocide.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/why-so...d-others-dont/

[Armenian Bishop]

Fake Slanderous Propaganda: "Armenia is Anti-Semitic."

https://armenianweekly.com/2020/10/2...ijan-articles/

Kamaras’ second email dated March 9 is addressed to Rob Shimshock of CNSNews, containing yet another article, this time by Jesse Bogner and titled “The ‘old anti-Semitism’ is alive and well.” This piece alleges that there is “medieval-style anti-Semitism coming from Armenian organizations and commentators,” and that “The ANCA’s recent rhetoric on Twitter represents the latest indicator of not only the anti-Semitism emanating from Armenia, one of the world’s oldest Christian nations, but also of the disturbing perpetuation of classical Christian anti-Semitism.” Of course, Bogner portrays Azerbaijan as a haven of tolerance. “By contrast, Armenia’s Muslim-majority neighbor has a deep relationship with Israel, no history of anti-Semitism, and a prosperous Jewish community of its own for more than two millennia,” he writes.

Apparently CNS News did not publish Bogner’s article. On March 15, the piece was published on Bogner’s blog on The Times of Israel. Again, there was no mention of the Azerbaijani Embassy; just Bogner’s bio: “Jesse Bogner is an author and journalist. His memoir and social critique, The Egotist, has been translated into five languages. His work has been featured in The Daily Caller, MSN, The Daily Wire and The Huffington Post. His book of articles, Tikkunim (Corrections), was released in January 2018.”

It is outside the scope of this article to counter such propaganda. However, I will refer you to Yoav Loeff’s Jan. 27 article titled, “Armenia’s Antisemitism? The Truth Is Different,” in The Jerusalem Post, which he wrote coincidentally in response to a piece by Hoffman—the same Hoffman whose articles Kamaras disseminated on behalf of Azerbaijan’s Embassy. Loeff, who teaches Armenian history and culture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Jewish and has traveled to Armenia with other Jews and Israelis on many occasions, and stresses that he has “never heard a hint of antisemitic expression.”

“If there is some criticism, it is usually about Israel’s hesitation to recognize the Armenian genocide that was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire…” he writes.

“Armenia’s small Jewish community never suffered antisemitism in their adopted homeland. Most of them left in the early 1990s, after the severe earthquake in the north of the country in 1988 and the collapse of the Soviet Union,” explains Loeff. He notes the dire economic situation following the earthquake and the Artsakh war and adds, “They did not leave because they faced any antisemitism; they left because they sought better life.”

Loeff also discusses the various ways in which Armenian government representatives had honored Holocaust victims, from Armenian President Armen Sarkissian’s attendance at the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem to the erection of a monument in Yerevan in memory of the victims of the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. “Unfortunately, there is no parallel such monument in Israel,” he adds.

[Armenian Bishop]

Fake Propaganda: "Azerbaijan Champions Religious Freedom."

https://armenianweekly.com/2020/10/2...ijan-articles/

Kamaras’ next email (May 6) was also to CNSNews, in which it becomes clear that Rob Shimshock (the recipient) did not respond to the lobbyist’s previous two emails (which also explains why Bogner’s pieces ended up on his blog). This time, Kamaras submits his own article titled “Azerbaijan’s postponed Formula 1 race transcends sports” about which he tells Shimshock, “I write that despite the event’s postponement this year, the annual Formula 1 auto race hosted by Muslim-majority Azerbaijan — particularly during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan — is a powerful display of religious freedom, especially in a world plagued by sectarian conflict and now by the invisible enemy of the coronavirus.”

What Kamaras fails to mention is that Freedom House gave Azerbaijan a score of 0 out 4 for religious freedom in its 2020 report, which noted, “The regime exercises control over religion through state-affiliated entities such as the Caucasus Muslim Board. Religious communities that attempt to operate independently face burdensome registration requirements, interference with the importation and distribution of printed religious materials, and arrest and harassment of religious leaders with international ties or a significant following.” In other words, the idea of a religiously tolerant Azerbaijan is a myth nurtured by Baku’s agents abroad.

In any case, at the end of the article submission, Kamaras includes his bio: “Jacob Kamaras, former editor in chief of the Jewish News Syndicate, is noted for his work on the Middle East and American politics. His writing has appeared in the Washington Times, Independent Journal Review, the American Spectator, and various Jewish and Israeli media.” It makes no mention of his role as a lobbyist on behalf of the Embassy of Azerbaijan to the US. However, the email does end with the usual disclaimer.

CNSNews published the article on May 7, slightly altering the title to read, “Azerbaijan’s Grand Prix Transcends Sports, Speaks to Religious Freedom.” However, it added the following to Kamaras’ bio: “Jacob Kamaras is founder of Stellar Jay Communications, a PR firm representing Azerbaijan.” The next day, another lobbyist on behalf of Azerbaijan, Mark Tavlarides of the BGR Group, emailed the article out to relevant contacts, urging them to read it.

[Armenian Bishop]

Azerbaijan’s US-based lobbyists are at the forefront of an “information warfare” that costs millions of dollars annually. One important aspect of the work of these lobbyists is to place, disseminate and promote anti-Armenian narratives. Their tactics have evolved into a relentless smear campaign through US media outlets.

https://armenianweekly.com/2020/10/2...ijan-articles/

[Xyresic]

The ‘old anti-Semitism’ is alive and well

In Israel and throughout the global Jewish community, much attention today justifiably focuses on countering the “new anti-Semitism,” the phenomenon in which Jew-hatred attempts to disguise itself as anti-Zionism and criticism of the Israeli government.

Yet the “old anti-Semitism” — the centuries-old blood libel accusing Jews of murdering Christians — is also alive and well, with a telltale sign coming from a recent series of tweets by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

In tweets promoting the theme of “Christian Artsakh” from March 3-5, the ANCA transformed its territorial conflict with Azerbaijan into a religious battleground, describing the Armenian-occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh as “an ancient #Christian land, modern democratic republic, and home to 1st Century holy sites – under attack by #Azerbaijan’s oil-rich #Aliyev dictatorship.” The ANCA repeatedly used the same language to target supporters of Azerbaijan such as Jewish lawmaker Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), registered foreign agents like the BGR Group lobbying firm, and President Donald Trump.

Russian-Armenian journalist Grigor Atanesian — who is certainly not known for any pro-Azerbaijan bias — called out the ANCA’s “misleading and even dangerous” framing of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a religious conflict when in truth, it is “an ethnic one.”

Yet a closer examination of the ANCA’s tweets reveals that in addition to weaponizing Christianity for political purposes, the pro-Armenian lobby promoted age-old anti-Semitic tropes. One tweet featured a painting of the arrest of Jesus, invoking the myth that Jews killed Jesus. Another tweet included a photo of silver coins and stated, “For 30 pieces of silver (actually, quite a bit more) from #Azerbaijan’s oil-rich #Aliyev petro-monarchy, @BGR has betrayed the #Christian faithful of #Artsakh,” eerily conjuring the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory of Jewish control over financial markets and governments.

A week earlier, after the American Jewish Committee (AJC) honored the memory of the Azerbaijani victims of the 1992 Armenian-perpetrated Khojaly massacre, a different Armenian Twitter user replied, “You sleep with Azeris and turks for money even though they carried out the genocide that inspired Hitler.” The remark echoes last year’s assault on Jewish organizations’ warm ties with Muslim-majority Azerbaijan by Armenian-American journalist David Boyajian. Writing in the Foreign Policy Journal, Boyajian blasted AJC CEO David Harris for accepting an award from Azerbaijan and “many Jewish writers worldwide” for “gratuitously slandering Armenian Americans and Armenia, all because Israel buys oil from and sells billions in weapons to Azerbaijan, Armenia’s adversary.” In claiming that the Azerbaijan-Israel relationship controls media coverage about Armenia, Boyajian’s anti-Semitic slander is unmistakable.

It should not be surprising to find this medieval-style anti-Semitism coming from Armenian organizations and commentators. Research shows that Armenian society displays chronic anti-Semitism. A Pew Research Center survey found that 32 percent of Armenians would not accept Jews as fellow citizens. Further, the Anti-Defamation League’s “Global 100” study reported that a majority of Armenians believe a variety of anti-Semitic stereotypes are “probably true.”

These anti-Semitic attitudes translate into anti-Semitic behaviors. In its capital of Yerevan, Armenia has glorified Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh through not just one, but three tributes: a statue, square, and subway station. In June 2019, on the eve of the Shavuot holiday, 60 Armenian Church students reportedly attempted a lynching of Jews in Jerusalem.

The ANCA’s recent rhetoric on Twitter represents the latest indicator of not only the anti-Semitism emanating from Armenia, one of the world’s oldest Christian nations, but also of the disturbing perpetuation of classical Christian anti-Semitism.

By contrast, Armenia’s Muslim-majority neighbor has a deep relationship with Israel, no history of anti-Semitism, and a prosperous Jewish community of its own for more than two millennia. Indeed, Azerbaijan is not fixated on a medieval mentality that injects religious issues into its territorial conflict, nor has Baku weaponized Islam like Yerevan weaponizes Christianity. In fact, a Gallup International/WI Network of Market Research poll ranks Azerbaijan as one of the world’s most secular countries, whose constitution affirms separation of church and state as well as religious freedom.

Azerbaijan’s paradigm for thriving interfaith ties is rooted in an understanding that Jews and Muslims — despite their differences — share the same history, same tragedies, and same fate. Now is the time for Armenia and its diaspora to follow suit. Today, Armenia’s fixation on its conflict with Azerbaijan gives new life to the blood libel that enabled anti-Semitism to emerge in the first place. Tomorrow, we can only hope that Armenia abandons this dangerous weaponization of religion, while helping jettison “old anti-Semitism” to the dustbin of history.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-...live-and-well/