One of the sacred lessons of the Holocaust in contemporary Jewish life has always been that it is such a transcendent historical event that it must not be exploited for political gain by anyone, Jew or gentile. This, in essence is one of the sine qua nons of the ADL, which makes a point of taking to task demagogues of the world who engage in such cheap behavior. My problem with that organization is that such denunciations seem reserved far more often for the political left than the political right. But that’s a subject for another time.
The Israeli Knesset is poised to exploit a different Holocaust in precisely the same way it would take to task any other country engaging in such cheap theatrics. For years, as long as it enjoyed a healthy relationship with Turkey, Israel has refused to acknowledge the Armenian genocide. This is nothing short of Holocaust denial (though of a slightly different vintage, since it isn’t JEWISH Holocaust denial). The ADL too, in accord with Israel’s approach, refused to recognize this historic tragedy. This, despite the fact that the national group features Holocaust education as one of its core missions.
Now that relations with Turkey have soured, Israel can now afford to develop historical memory and a moral conscience. The Knesset is now considering appointing a day in the nation’s calendar that will recognize this other Middle Eastern Holocaust.
Of course there was an Armenian genocide and of course it should be recognized by all nations, including and especially Turkey. But the Knesset’s actions beg the question: why now? The answer is of course because now it’s politically expedient to acknowledge Armenian suffering as long as it discomfits our new enemy of the moment: Turkey.
This is yet another shameful abuse of the Holocaust (this one Armenian) for a nation’s selfish political interests. It is simply unacceptable for Israel or anyone to exploit such unimaginable suffering for partisan advantage. There must be a line drawn somewhere, a sacred prohibition against such cheap and tawdry grandstanding. And as a nation claiming to represent the history and suffering of the entire Jewish people, it is an unpardonable sin for Israel to turn the Armenian genocide into a cudgel to use in it’s mini-war against Turkey.
For if Israel does this, it will simply have no leg to stand on when it wishes to complain about others exploiting OUR Holocaust for their own ends.
The Knesset’s protestations that the new deliberations aren’t politically motivated and have nothing to do with petty vengeance against Turkey for siding with the Palestinians during and after Operation Cast Lead, ring hollow. Just like the defense ministry’s cancellation of a contract with Turkey to deploy an advanced Israeli-made radar system, for fear it might end up in Iran’s hands, rang hollow when it claimed the announcement had nothing to do with the current political spat between the two countries. Of course it has everything to do with politics and little or nothing to do with the security concerns advanced by Israel.
Silverstein has published Tikun Olam since 2003, It exposes the secrets of the Israeli national security state. He lives in Seattle, but his heart is in the east. He publishes regularly at Middle East Eye, the New Arab, and Jacobin Magazine. His work has also appeared in Al Jazeera English, The Nation, Truthout and other outlets.
I think the points you touch on are more important than the points in your bulls-eye.
Jews, of course, have appropriated, or hijacked, the word “holocaust” in order to set themselves apart as the world’s ultimate victims. In order to be the world’s ultimate victims, there must be only one holocaust. Consequently, a young person growing up in any western country would not know that “holocaust” means anything other than “The Holocaust” or “the Holocaust.” Even you, who clearly appreciate that it is a general term, capitalize it when using it generically.
As you clearly imply, by the use of “The Holocaust,” Jews are saying that there has been only one. That’s what the definite article “the” means, and it’s particularly what it means when “the” and/or “holocaust” are capitalized. And if only one holocaust is recognized, then all of the others are denied — the Russian holocaust, the Armenian holocaust, the Cambodian holocaust, the Korean holocaust, the Nagasaki holocaust, the Hiroshima holocaust, the Congo holocaust . . . where to stop?
This is the irony. If I merely ask “How could there have possibly been 6 million?” Foxman or some rabid rabbi immediately accuses me of being a “Holocaust denier,” which they then translate into “anti-Semite,” which causes me to first laugh and then throw up.
And yet many of these same Jews deny other, and much more dreadful holocausts with their “The Holocaust” without anyone calling them on it. At least until this post.
As you say: “This is nothing short of Holocaust denial (though of a slightly different vintage, since it isn’t JEWISH Holocaust denial).” Bingo.
When is genocide NOT holocaust???
I think that now they are doing the right thing.
The prevention of previous attempts to recognise the Armenian Holocaust (attempts like Yossi Sarid’s to include it in the school curriculum when he was Education Minister) was a*** licking to Turkish blackmail and was morally unsound.
Better late than never to do the right thing even if the motives are not entirely pure.
France led the way, and Israel follows – where is the rest of the world?
it led the way to ridicule and abomination. now it’s a CRIME not to talk about those massacres in the terms politicians choose for us. how stupid is that ?
As much as Turkey has still a long way to go to plainly/officially recognise those mass killings for what they are (they actually started some years ago, but who cares when crappy electoral motives can ruin everything…), their press perfectly summarized what happened in France last week :
http://istanbul.blog.lemonde.fr/files/2011/12/fft17_mf880834-760×1024.jpg
Of course the most important Zionist holocaust denial is the denial of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Zionists don’t dare own up to that one. Instead they made up a ludicrous myth: the 740,000 Palestinians weren’t expelled from their homes in 1948 and forced to flee to refugee camps; no, they left of their own accord, egged on by Arab radio broadcasts urging them to leave. Of course Zionists are much more likely to put the number at far less than the actual three-quarters of a million. Since ethnic cleansing is the destruction of a people with a coherent identity, it is considered by the UN to be a form of genocide. But Nakba remembrance is illegal in Occupied Palestine, the state many people call Israel.
Some ethnic cleansing.
I’m sitting in Tel-Aviv with my Arab colleagues, working on the latest version of our software.
How can one be so absurd as to claim that Israel ethnically cleansed Israel, where there are over a million Arab living as equal citizens in it?
I doubt you have very many Israeli Palesyinian colleagues & I know you haven’t asked THEM whether they feel they’re equal citizens to you. Because if you had, their answer would’ve disproved yr claim, unless of course you are their boss, in which case they would have to tell you what you want to hear. But you already only hear what you want to hear anyway.
As for ethnic cleansing, you’d have twice as many Israeli Palestinian employees of you company, in fact it might be owned by one if Ben Gurion, Rabin, Begin & others hadn’t ethnically cleansed nearly 1 million residents who were forced into exile.
Ethnic cleansing or no ethnic cleansing,I seriously doubt if a palestinian can set up or own a company in the first place.
If not for ethnic cleansing Israel would have had a Palestinian majority today.
As a Persian Armenian Jew, it has always disturbed me, Israel’s nondescript stance as to the initial holocaust and genocide of the Armenians. The historical Armenian holocaust, well in advance of the Jewish holocaust, is well documented. In a now famous interview that took place in London prior to extermination of the Jews in Germany, Hitler was questioned by the press regarding his plans to eliminate an entire culture (the Jews) he answered simply, “they forgot the Armenians didn’t they.” Amongst his numerous law reviews and acclaimed articles, noted historian and Guggenheim Fellow, Dr. Vahikn Dadrian, quoted in Nazi Doctors makes this point unequivocally clear. If ever there is a time for Israel to come forward and stand for the courage of her convictions, it is now. If not now, when? After history systematically wipes both the Armenian Holocaust and Genocide and Jewish Holocaust off the earth’s pages forever? Make no mistake, the holocaust deniers are gaining momentum for a reason — Israel has not adequately prevented them from proliferating, nor has Israel attempted to trace the backers of such denials to their inception: Turkey. Turkey has been eradicating all mention of Armenians from their published history, and they have attempted to rewrite Israel’s own history. Turkey has, piecemeal minimized with a view to nullify Israel’s importance let alone existence. Turkey will not stop, it must BE stopped. The Armenian Genocide must be recognized and Israel must assist before it is too late for both.