
 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Oct. 16, 2007
/ 4 Mar-Cheshvan 5768
Security before belief
By
Ed Koch
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When I was a child, I read "The Forty Days at Musa Dagh" by
Franz Werfel, a fictionalized account of actual events, which told the
story of how the Turks persecuted and killed Armenians in 1915. From
that time on, I was on the side of the Armenians and against the Turks.
This was back in the days before the word "genocide" had
entered our vocabulary. To this day, I still believe the Turks killed
1.5 million Armenians because of tribalism and their hatred of
Christians. In 1915, during World War I, the Ottoman Empire was on the
side of the German Empire, then led by Kaiser Wilhelm II. At its high
point, the Ottoman Empire stretched from Greece to Egypt and everything
in between, including Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and
the coastal strip of North Africa
When I was in Congress from 1969 through 1977, I joined with
Ben Rosenthal (D-NY), who is now deceased, John Brademas (D-IN) and Paul
Sarbanes (D-MD) as one of those supporting the Rosenthal amendment which
called on Congress to cut off military aid to Turkey unless it removed
its invading army from Cyprus. A coup in Cyprus had endangered the
Turkish minority on that island and precipitated the Turkish invasion
and the establishment of a Turkish controlled area in the north of the
island.
Let me digress for a moment and relate a short anecdote
which appears in my book, "Politics." "When the Rosenthal amendment was
ratified by the House, Rosenthal, Brademas, Sarbanes and me were invited
by the Greek Patriarch of North and South America, Archbishop Iakovos,
now deceased, to his birthday party held in Manhattan and attended by
more than a thousand guests at which Paul Sarbanes and John Brademas
were to be honored. Well, the star was Rosenthal. When he came in, the
place erupted. You had a thousand Greeks in there. It would be like a
thousand Jews on something involving Israel of momentous importance to
them. The Rosenthal Amendment had carried at that point, and I've never
seen such a response for the size of the group. It was wonderful. And
Rosenthal made one of the best speeches I've ever heard. It was a very
short one. He said, 'I was wondering what I would say here tonight, and
I thought I'd tell you a story. You're probably not going to appreciate
it in the way that it's meant, but I'm going to tell you anyway.' He
said, 'I had lunch with my mother, who lives in New York, today; and she
asked me what I was doing tonight, so I said, 'I'm going to a dinner,
Mama, that will honor two of my friends in Congress, John Brademas and
Paul Sarbanes. And, you know, Mama, they're probably the two smartest
men in Congress.' My mother said, 'Are they Jewish?' and I said, 'No,
Mama, they're not Jewish - they're Greek.' My mother said, 'Are you
sure they're not Jewish?' I thought a moment and then I said to my
mother, 'Mama, I think they're half Jewish' And then he said to this
crowd, holding out his hands, 'Tonight I'm half Greek.' And the place
erupted in cheers and applause. I think it's the best story I've ever
heard for an audience of that kind. It was wonderful, just wonderful."
Now back to the present. Last week, the House Foreign
Affairs Committee led by Chairman Tom Lantos, voted 27-21 to denounce
the slaughter of the Armenians in 1915 as an act of genocide by the
Turks. The Turks have always taken the position that the killing of
Armenians on their eastern border - their border with Russia, then on
the side of the allies in World War I - occurred because, they alleged,
the Armenians sided with the Russians, thereby committing treason
against the country in which they lived, the Ottoman Empire. In support
of their defense against committing an act of genocide, they point to
the fact that Armenians living in Constantinople, then capital of the
Ottoman Empire, were not killed.
The Turks now in a newly created country - formed in 1917
led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who secularized a then theocratic Islamic
remnant of the Ottoman Empire, wanting to establish a new Turkey that
included all minorities to be equally treated in a democratic state,
made it illegal to disparage the new state.
The Turkish government, enraged at the action of the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, has threatened retaliation if the Congress,
both House and Senate, passes a final resolution. The retaliation
threatened is to close the port in Turkey which permits the entry of 30
percent of all U.S. fuel used for military vehicles in Iraq and the
closure of the Turkish airport through which a large part of U.S.
military supplies are airlifted for use in Iraq.
On my Bloomberg radio program, I
gave my position on the issue and entered into a dialogue with a young
man who identified himself as Armenian. I said that while I still
believed what the Turks did in 1915 was an act of genocide, I would not
have voted for the resolution, because it endangers the security of
American troops and simply provides the Armenians with a political
victory and nothing else. Therefore, it is not worth the danger the
Congressional action will cause to American troops. While we did not
get into it in this discussion, I have on other occasions stated my
support for using American troops to defend the people of Darfur in the
Sudan from suffering genocide which is occurring today. I also
mentioned on the program that during my tenure as a Congressman, I did
not sufficiently appreciate how valued an American ally the Turks had
become.
I regretted my failure to appreciate their positive role as our
ally, particularly at a time when Greece was hostile to both the U.S.
and Israel, while Turkey was friendly and supportive to both the U.S.
and Israel.
My listener was surprised, he said, at my position on the
resolution. I replied that the paramount duty of all Americans is to
safeguard the wellbeing of American troops in Iraq. That comes before
all other considerations in my judgment. He responded that he did not
believe they would be endangered.
I disagree and don't think we should
chance it.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Edward I. Koch, the former mayor of New York, can be heard on Bloomberg Radio (WBBR 1130 AM) every Sunday from 9-10 am . Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2007, Ed Koch
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|