Today (April 24, 1915) was the 95th Anniversary of the commencement of the Armenian Genocide.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_genocide). On this day 240 of the leading cultural and commercial figures of the Armenian community were arrested in the city of Constantinople, most whom were later massacred. From there, at least 1,000,000 Armenians died from massacres, hunger and thirst in the cold mountains of Anatolia and the burning deserts of Syria. Countless women and children were kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam. Since then the Turkish government has destroyed 100's if not 1000's of monasteries, churches and architectural treasures that attest to the 3,000 year Armenian presence in Anatolia.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdJhTgT0xqw)
As a Jew who lost countless members of my family in the Holocaust, my heart goes out to the Armenian Community. An added element to the Armenian tragedy is that the Turkish government and majority of Turkish people do not recognize the genocide. I can only imagine the rage I would feel if the German government and people denied the holocaust. In addition, several world governments have failed to publicly recognize the Armenian Genocide. Most shamefully, the United States and Israel fall under this category. While I understand the strategic value of Turkey, this flight from moral responsibility is incomprehensible, especially in the case of Israel. Thankfully most Israeli historians and intellectuals do not share their government's position (http://www.armenianweekly.com/2010/04/20/sassounian/).
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