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What I’ve Been Up To Lately
- mazel tov to @bluenatic and @grandstreet on the birth of their baby girl 2 weeks ago
- RT @JTownCrier: Tropper? Kolko? Margulies? Balkany? Dwek? Rubashkin? NO. Moetzes Gedolei Torah condemn AVI WEISS as more offensive. 2 weeks ago
- Rorschach from Watchmen is the new Freddy Krueger http://bit.ly/7s61Cj 2 weeks ago
- More updates...
After all that…
The American Jewish community came out against the ADL for its position on the Armenian genocide, forcing the ADL to retract its earlier stance.
Though it was certain to create tensions between both Israel and Turkey and the United States and Turkey, the recent congressional bill recognizing the Armenian genocide had the approval of 7 out of 8 Jewish committee members.
So visible was the Jewish community’s support for the US’s official recognition of the Armenian genocide, Turkey’s government, this week, blamed the Jewish community for the bill’s approval.
And yet, nonetheless, the Armenian government yesterday gave a denier of the Jewish Holocaust, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an honorary doctorate and a gold medal.
So basically, the Jewish community stood by the Armenian community (albeit with Israeli officials kowtowing to the Jewish State’s “only Muslim ally”) and the Armenian community told the Jews to go fuck ourselves.
So much for natural allies.
I find the hypocrisy moving in all directions so fascinating.
Bush on Iraq: Let history decide what did or did not happen.
Ahmadinejad on the Shoah: Let history decide what did or did not happen.
ADL and Israel on Armenia: Let history decide what did or did not happen.
Armenia on the Shoah: Let history decide what did or did not happen.
The ADL always maintained position that recognition should not happen, so really individual Jews were awesome here, the ADL and Israeli state apparatus was not(as per usual on this issue,) which is totally analogous to the Armenian state’s action (unfortunately they do a lot of things I don’t particularly like.) I’m not even Armenian, but yeah, from what I’m told there are some pretty huge fissures between the state proper and the diaspora.
As far as political moves go though, besides economic interests at stake for Armenia, it seems like nothing new with regards to the Turkish/Israeli relationship pissing them off.
im praying that the Armenian government does not represent the collective interestss of the Armenian Diaspora.
think about it this way too. even on the rare chance that a majority of the Armenian people supported the Armenian governments actions regaurding Iran’s President, it doesnt make a difference. HRES 106 is for the sake of the victims of genocide, not for the sake of the present day Armenian government. Regardless of the actions that apparatus takes, the resolution is still justified as morally right.
Should the Israeli government completely cut off relations with Turkey then?
That’s an interesting question, as i am presently writing a paper on the question: should governments be under the same moral limits as individuals. Im still working out my thoughts on this issue, as it is very tricky, but i have made a couple of realizations. Most importantly, by putting so many varying responcibilities and powers in to one public body, it cannot be expected that that body will be able to be dictated by the same limits, moral or otherwise, as the individuals that make it up. The end product of the centralization of such massive forces of power by the people is something that cant be considered anything other than super-human by character. As something which is “more than man”, as far as sheer powers and responsibilities are concerned, it would be naïve to believe that the state can be governed by “mortal” limits.
(It should be understood, however, that the mere superhuman nature of modern governments only explains their moral transcending character; it does not, by any means, justify it.)
Israel, like many countries in the world today, has a state with such a concerntration of powers and responcibilities that it too transcends a human character. As a state one of its most important responcibilities is security (the main reason people invest so much power in one body). From what I hear, Israel believes Turkey is an important ally in maintaining this security. For the state, maintaining the security, and in turn the power, is much more important than mere mortal morals. Naturally, it would therefore be a bad move for the Israeli government to completely cut off relations with Turkey.
Do I like this reality? NO.
Do I support the state being so powerful it transcends human morals by its very character? NO.
As a sidenote, if Turkey were to take the lead, and cut off relations with Israel over the Armenian genocide; i feel it would be humiliating for Israel to try to win them back…not to mention morally abhorrant.
Turkey also sends Israel a ton of water, far more than they get from the territories, not to mention the weapons they buy fro them etc etc.
It’s a rhetorical question, because obviously we’re not going to hold a people account to the actions of their government (or in this case 1/3 of whom live in Armenia proper,) but it’s the equivalent standard that you’re asking to hold them to, since Armenia is a tiny country with no natural resources and a border with Iran. Not to mention that Israel doesn’t recognize the genocide either and has put pressure on the US on Turkey’s behalf before.
Maybe they’re preparing for proxy battles with Turkey, putting Iran and Israel in the field.
I doubt that the University’s honory degree equates to the Armenian people agreeing with Holocaust denial. That would be a long stretch.