Armenian Assembly of American to Honor JCRC Executive Director Nancy Kaufman for Raising Awareness of the Genocide
By Defacto Staff
Defacto
April 25, 2008
The Armenian Assembly of America is pleased to announce that it will honor Nancy K. Kaufman and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston for their continued leadership in the affirmation of the Armenian Genocide during an award reception, May 9, at the Grand Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, MA.
Kaufman and the JCRC are being recognized for their moral leadership in affirming the Armenian Genocide at a time when others would not have taken such a bold step.
"This event will be a great opportunity for supporters of both organizations to come together to celebrate their accomplishments and the growing relationship between our two communities," said Assembly Public Affairs Chair Anthony Barsamian.
On April 18, Kaufman, who is Executive Director of the JCRC, spoke movingly about the shared experiences of the Jewish and Armenian communities in the last century, during the 93rd commemoration of the Armenian Genocide at the Massachusetts State House.
"In the history of the world, the 20th century will be remembered as a time of some good, some real evil, and many challenges, including tragedy and transformation," Kaufman said. "Two of the most horrendous events were the genocide of Armenians at the hands of the Turks in the beginning of the century, and the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis during the middle of the century. It is our responsibility, as the next generation, to tell the story of our ancestors who were the victims of these atrocities."
"As a way of not letting the Armenian Genocide be forgotten, I would like to bear witness - to testify, if you will - to that history," she added. "It is particularly important for us, as Jews, to speak out in support of your community's efforts to fight denial."
She noted that the JCRC had been on record for many years in affirming the Armenian Genocide and discussed why, almost 100 years after the atrocities, it is so important for the crimes to be properly recognized.
"The simple truth is that unless crimes like these are accepted as reality, the perpetrators [punished]...and fair compensation for the victims and families [are provided], then we will continue to have future genocides without any concern by the perpetrators that they will face prosecution and be brought to justice," Kaufman said.
The annual remembrance event was led by Massachusetts State Representatives Rachel Kaprielian (D-Watertown) and Peter J. Koutoujian (D-Waltham) and Senator Steven A. Tolman (D-Boston), in conjunction with the State House Commemoration Planning Committee.
