ADL on the Armenian Genocide

We believe that remembering and educating about any genocide – Armenian, the Holocaust, Bosnia, Rwanda, and others is a necessary tool to prevent future tragedies.

Our experience regarding the Holocaust is relevant. When the first pictures of Auschwitz appeared at the end of World War II, there was widespread shame in the Western world at the realization that anti-Semitism was deeply embedded across cultures and countries and could produce such horror.  That collective shame helped to inhibit manifestations of anti-Semitism for decades.  Now, as time moves on, as that sense of shame eviscerates, it is no accident that anti-Semitism has reemerged with full force. In other words, we must educate each generation about the tragedies of the past.

That is why I am speaking out today and why we would support U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Silence is not an option.

In many ways, we have made great strides in this country fighting bigotry.  Consider the great gains of the civil rights movement; the diminution of anti-Semitism that limited Jewish life in America; the ascendance of the Latino community; the revolution in attitudes and laws impacting the LGBT community.  There have been setbacks and there is still tremendous work to be done, as exemplified by the stereotypes regarding Latinos and immigrants as well as anti-Muslim rhetoric that has characterized this unusual presidential campaign.

Collectively, this background makes it imperative for groups who, sadly, share a history of oppression to stand together. When individuals or groups deny the Armenian genocide, as recently took place with a billboard in Boston, ADL will speak out and denounce that denial. In that spirit, I am optimistic about greater cooperation going forward to end all forms of hate and bigotry.

ADL’s education curriculum explores genocides that have taken place during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries including the Cambodian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. It also explores the world’s response to genocide and some of the reasons for global silence in the face of mass atrocities: