Mick Hartley

As the Jewish Anti-Defamation League dither about the Armenian Genocide – first appeasing the Turks, then, in the face of mounting protests, changing their mind – Turkey’s Prime Minister threatens to return the ‘Courage to Care’ award presented to him by the ADL in 2005 in honour of Turkish diplomats who played a role in saving Jews during World War II:

Speaking to journalists last night PM Erdogan answered questions about his phone conversation with Israeli President Shimon Peres and said: “I called Mr. Peres to express our disappointment. I told him that if ADL does not make the necessary correction, I will return the award they gave me. On one hand, they give an award to Turkish prime minister out of appreciation, on the other hand they declare that they recognize Armenian genocide claims. ‘If this is the case I have no use for their award; I will give it back’.

It’s hard not to fell at least some sympathy for the ADL and its national director Abraham Foxman, despite calls for his resignation. Why antagonise Israel’s only ally in the region for the sake of a cause which, frankly, isn’t theirs? But of course this goes beyond realpolitik:

“It is obscene for us, of all people, to quibble about definitions,” one prominent California rabbi recently told the Jewish Journal.

To the ADL’s credit, they’ve reached the right decision. No credit whatsoever, though, to the Turks:

The Turkish government is pressuring Israel in an effort to reverse an American Jewish organization’s decision to recognize Turkey’s massacre of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

A meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul and Israel’s ambassador to Ankara, Pinhas Avivi, became “shrill,” according to Foreign Ministry sources in Jerusalem. Gul expressed Ankara’s “anger and disappointment” over the matter.

On Tuesday, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it recognizes the events in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were massacred as “genocide.” ADL’s national director Abraham Foxman, said he made the decision after discussing the matter with historians and with Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

According to an Israeli ministry source, Gul told the Israeli ambassador that “Turkey knows Israel was not responsible for the Anti-Defamation League’s announcement, but is disappointed because Israel could have done something to prevent it.”

Avivi replied that Jerusalem was not involved in the ADL’s decision and that “there is no change in Israel’s position. We are not taking sides, and believe that the parties must hold a dialogue to clarify and investigate the matter and determine what really happened.” […]

Israel is concerned that the matter may lead to a genuine diplomatic crisis between the two countries, and it has sent quiet signals to American Jewish organizations in an effort to lower the tone. The Foreign Ministry is concerned that the strategic relationship between the two countries could be harmed and that the Jewish community in Turkey could be affected.