Rep. Levin Expresses Support for Armenian Community at Virtual Coffee Hour

He added that he is also an opponent of Islamophobia, while at the same time has always taken a stand for religious minorities in majority-Muslim countries. Notably, since Levin represents the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights, “I represent the most Iraqi-born people of the whole House. And it’s mostly Chaldeans.” (Chaldeans are the Aramaic-speaking Catholic natives of Northern Iraq, who in the US primarily live in the state of Michigan.) “I’m out there fighting for them. When Trump became president they started to mass deport Iraqi nationals.” Levin shared that the deportations were done to anyone who had committed a crime, and while these crimes might have been real, they could be minor infractions. Twenty years after a minor infraction, the individual is a contributing member of society who runs his own business and goes to church every week, yet the government is trying to deport him. This was a major issue in Michigan a few years ago and Levin stated that he has “spent a huge amount of time trying to help the Chaldean communities.”

Levin further stated that he stands up for religious minorities and the underdog everywhere, no matter who it is. He gave the example that as a young man he studied Tibetan Buddhism, and planned on a career as a professor of Asian religions. Yet, he found that his zeal for Tibetan human rights led him more naturally to a career in politics. Levin stated, “I love Buddhism, but yet in Myanmar the Buddhist majority is oppressing the Muslim minority.” Levin passionately concluded in relation to the oppression of religious minorities and Armenians in particular, “We cannot let it happen. We must protect Artsakh, and I will not stop.”

POW and Foreign Aid Issues

Levin was asked whether he has been aware of or advocating for the release of Armenian POWs held by the Azerbaijan. He responded that he was aware of it and “We’re trying to raise it up with the Biden administration and say that we need to use the levers that we have in diplomatic relations to force Azerbaijan’s hand,” and that “we are trying to pressure Azerbaijan and Turkey.”

In relation to foreign aid from the US to Armenia, Levin stated that he was “pushing for increased aid in the new budget.” He added that he thought “we will achieve increased aid, but it’s part of the whole package.” Levin also shared that “there’s a new isolation in the Trump wing of the Republican party that is hostile to foreign aid.” He added that even Republican politicians who were not “Trump Republicans” fear the electoral backlash from the “Trump wing” of the party and have taken a more isolationist approach to foreign aid and other issues. For this reason, Levin stated “It’s hard to build bipartisan consensus. I think we will have more aid, but it is difficult.”

Levin was also asked about the little-known Trump memorandum with the Turkish government, which suggests that Turkey has the right to reclaim any historical artifacts held within the US that originated on Turkish soil. Because the memorandum was signed on the last day of Trump’s administration, and the issue has been overshadowed by the Armenian POW issue and other issues related to Artsakh, few are aware of it. Yet, the status of Armenian heritage artifacts originating in Anatolia and which are held by Armenian groups in America and even by such institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, are in danger. Levin responded honestly that he was not aware of the issue but would look into it, and thanked the questioner for bringing it to his attention, because “it’s important” even if POWs and Artsakh are a priority right now. A few days later a communique from his office shared that they were planning to bring the issue up with the State Department.