Jewish Lobby Sits Out Vote On Armenian Genocide

Deteriorating relations between Turkey and Israel led Jewish groups to step back from active lobbying this year against a congressional resolution declaring the 1915 Turkish slaughter of Armenians a case of genocide.

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This year, no major Jewish groups lobbied for or against the resolution. As Jess Hordes, Washington director of the Anti-Defamation League, put it, “Inevitably, for some people the enthusiasm isn’t as great as it was in the past, because of concerns about Turkey’s policy on Israel.”

Hordes explained that although his organization believes the murder of Armenians amounts to genocide, the ADL opposes attempts to settle the issue through Congress. Like other organizations, the ADL launched no lobbying effort.

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Under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has shifted away from its strategic partnership with Israel. Its criticism of Israel’s Gaza operation was among the harshest heard, and a series of measures, which included withdrawing from a joint military exercise with Israel and moving closer to Iran, has led Jerusalem to fear that Israel’s strongest Muslim ally is drifting away.

The American Jewish community has also felt the chill. In the past, no visit to Washington by a Turkish leader was complete without a roundtable meeting with Jewish leaders. But Erdogan chose not to have such an event during his last visit, in December.

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This time, too, representatives of Jewish organizations in Washington were asked to use their clout to help block the resolution. In a meeting in late February, Tan, who previously served as Ankara’s envoy to Israel, asked Jewish communal leaders to help out Turkey.

“He made clear that they have very strong feelings on this,” one Jewish participant said. Another added that most representatives attending the meeting agreed that congressional action on recognizing Armenian genocide was the wrong course. He said that while relations between Turkey and Israel might have gone sour, it is still “extremely critical” to maintain the good ties.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity, because of the off-the-record nature of the meeting. But representatives of all Jewish groups contacted by the Forward said they did not actively lobby against the resolution and that, at most, they provided their perspective when asked.

Still, for some in the Jewish community, even silent support for the Turkish side is morally wrong.

“It is an absolute shande,” Rabbi Howard Jaffe said, using the Yiddish word for “shame.” Jaffe was one of the organizers of a Jewish-Armenian online petition calling for passage of the genocide resolution. It reached more than 5,000 signatures by the time Congress voted. Jaffe, of Temple Isaiah in Lexington, Mass., said that the choice between Israel’s best interest and recognition of the Armenian genocide was a false one. Israel, he argued, does not face real danger even if the resolution passes. “We can’t be held hostage to Turkey’s immoral behavior,” Jaffe said.

In the wake of the committee vote, there are signs that Turkey’s leaders are reassessing the strategy of distancing themselves from American Jews against the backdrop of chilling ties with Israel. Erdogan has now included a meeting with Jewish leaders as part of his scheduled April visit to Washington.