Jonathan Zimmerman: Some Truths Trump Even Crucial Alliances
[Jonathan Zimmerman teaches history at New York University and lives in Narberth. He is the author, most recently, of "Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory" (Yale University Press). He can be reached at jlzimm@aol.com.]
Does historical truth matter? Should we tell the truth even if it hurts? Or should we set it aside to serve our present-day purposes?
I've been wondering about those questions ever since Israeli commandos attacked a Turkish aid flotilla bound for Gaza, killing nine people....
And, nearly a century ago, Turkey committed genocide....
Lest he alienate the Turkish government, Obama has refrained from using the term genocide to describe Turkey's massacre of roughly 1.5 million Armenians in 1915.
But I think he should. Turkey did commit genocide, as every credible historian acknowledges. By avoiding the term, we will make it easier for other regimes to engage in genocide. And it will be harder for us and the rest of the world to hold them to account....
We are. And we must. Even in the wake of the Gaza raid - and even at the cost of our friendship with Turkey - we need to tell the truth about every genocide, past as well as present. Anything less will set the stage for more.
Read entire article at Philadelphia Inquirer
Does historical truth matter? Should we tell the truth even if it hurts? Or should we set it aside to serve our present-day purposes?
I've been wondering about those questions ever since Israeli commandos attacked a Turkish aid flotilla bound for Gaza, killing nine people....
And, nearly a century ago, Turkey committed genocide....
Lest he alienate the Turkish government, Obama has refrained from using the term genocide to describe Turkey's massacre of roughly 1.5 million Armenians in 1915.
But I think he should. Turkey did commit genocide, as every credible historian acknowledges. By avoiding the term, we will make it easier for other regimes to engage in genocide. And it will be harder for us and the rest of the world to hold them to account....
We are. And we must. Even in the wake of the Gaza raid - and even at the cost of our friendship with Turkey - we need to tell the truth about every genocide, past as well as present. Anything less will set the stage for more.