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Armenian National Committee of Michigan
19310 Ford Rd., Dearborn, MI 48128
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release ~ 2008-04-01
Contact: Armen Derderian ~ April 1, 2008 |
ARMENIAN ACTIVISTS PROTEST APPEARANCE OF ABRAHAM FOXMAN IN BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN
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 Birmingham, MI- On Wednesday, March 26, 2008, protesters gathered in front of the Birmingham Community House to protest the appearance of Abraham Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), reported the Armenian National Committee of Michigan (ANC of MI).
The peaceful rally, which drew activists from all over Michigan, was led by the local chapters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and the Armenian Democratic Liberal Organization. For two hours, activists held signs and distributed information about the ADL to those attending the event. It was later discovered that Mr. Foxman had unexpectedly canceled his appearance at the event.
“The Armenian community will not be silenced when it comes to speaking out on the truth,” commented ANC of MI Chairman Armen Derderian. “We will continue to work here in Michigan and throughout the nation to expose the Abraham Foxman’s complicity of denial on this important human rights issue.”
 Prior to the demonstration, on Sunday, March 23, 2008 the organizing bodies placed a full-page advertisement in the Observer & Eccentric newspaper. The article entitled “Shame on You Abraham H. Foxman” alerted readers to the ongoing controversies of the ADL’s denial, as well as educated the public about the Armenian Genocide.
Since August2007, the ADL has been under pressure from a series of grassroots protests, led by the Armenian National Committee along with progressive Jewish figures, to change its policy regarding the Armenian Genocide. Armenian and several Jewish leaders remain concerned as the ADL continues to use equivocal, euphemistic phrasing to describe the events of 1915, and openly opposes the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H. Res. 106, which was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a 27 to 21 vote on October 10, 2007.
Recently, former ADL Regional Director for the New England Region, Andrew H. Tarsy, who was fired for calling upon the ADL National Director Abe Foxman to reverse the organization’s policy and properly characterize the Armenian Genocide, has teamed up with Facing History and Ourselves. This Brookline-based educational organization focuses on preventing prejudice by teaching about the Holocaust and other examples of genocide.
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
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Photo Caption #1: Armenian community activists gathered outside the Birmingham Community House
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