Your generosity empowers our advocacy, inspires our work, and sustains our momentum.
Letter to U.S. House Members who voted YES on H.Res.296
Thank you for voting for the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296) and helping end Turkey’s veto against honest U.S. remembrance and commemoration of this crime.
With your leadership – and the support of over 400 of your U.S. House colleagues – you have sent a powerful message to the Turkish government that they no longer dictate U.S. policy regarding the Armenian Genocide. You have also paid tribute to the U.S. diplomats and the participants in the Congressionally-mandated Near East Relief, who helped hundreds of thousands of survivors of Ottoman Turkey’s brutal policy of race extermination.
Your ‘yes’ vote holds great meaning for the descendants of the millions of Armenian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Greek, Syriac, Aramean, Maronite and other Christian victims of this crime, including all those who found safe haven here in the United States.
Thank you, once again, for voting yes on H.Res.296 – the Armenian Genocide Resolution – and bringing America back to the right side on this important human rights issue.
Letter to U.S. House Members who voted NO on H.Res.296
I was disappointed to see that you have voted NO on the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296), and hope you will meet with representatives of the Armenian National Committee of America and local constituents to discuss your decision on this vital human right matter.
As you know, H.Res.296 simply calls for the U.S. to properly commemorate this crime, to distance America from genocide denial, and to make sure that the lessons of this mass murder are used to prevent future atrocities.
The facts are clear, as is our moral imperative: America should oppose genocide, in every instance, in every way. No exceptions. That is our legal obligation under the Genocide Convention and our ethical obligation as Americans.
American condemnation of this crime holds great meaning for the descendants of all its victims, including millions of Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Greeks, Pontians, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites and other Christians, many of whom found safe haven here in the United States.
My family and I hope that you will revisit your decision and that you will join with over 400 of your colleagues in properly commemorating and condemning this crime in the future.
Letter to U.S. House Members who vote PRESENT on H.Res.296
I was disappointed to see that you have voted “present” on the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296), and hope you will meet with representatives of the Armenian National Committee of America and local constituents to discuss your decision on this vital human right matter.
As you know, H.Res.296 simply calls for the U.S. to properly commemorate this crime, to distance America from genocide denial, and to make sure that the lessons of this mass murder are used to prevent future atrocities.
The facts are clear, as is our moral imperative: America should oppose genocide, in every instance, in every way. No exceptions. That is our legal obligation under the Genocide Convention and our ethical obligation as Americans.
American condemnation of this crime holds great meaning for the descendants of the millions of Armenian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Greek, Syriac, Aramean, Maronite and other Christian victims of this crime, including all those who found safe haven here in the United States.
My family and I hope that you will revisit your decision and that you will join with over 400 of your colleagues in properly commemorating and condemning this crime in the future.
Letter to U.S. House Members who did not vote on H.Res.296
I was disappointed to see that you were not available to vote on the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.296), and hope you will share your support for the measure in the Congressional Record and through a statement on the House floor.
As you know, H.Res.296 simply calls for the U.S. to properly commemorate this crime, to distance America from genocide denial, and to make sure that the lessons of this mass murder are used to prevent future atrocities.
The facts are clear, as is our moral imperative: America should oppose genocide, in every instance, in every way. No exceptions. That is our legal obligation under the Genocide Convention and our ethical obligation as Americans.
American condemnation of this crime holds great meaning for the descendants of the millions of Armenian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Greek, Syriac, Aramean, Maronite and other Christian victims of this crime, including all those who found safe haven here in the United States.
My family and I look forward to seeing your support for H.Res.296 – the Armenian Genocide Resolution – referenced in the Congressional record or through a statement on the House floor.
Letter to U.S. Senators who have co-sponsored S.Res.150
I am writing, in the wake of the overwhelming adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.296, in the U.S. House, to ask you – as a cosponsor of S.Res.150 – to call publicly for immediate consideration of this human rights resolution on the Senate floor.
As you know, S.Res.150, calls for the U.S. to properly commemorate this crime, to distance America from genocide denial, and to make sure that the lessons of this mass murder are used to prevent future atrocities. The 405 to 11 House vote, on October 29th, speaks to the broad bipartisan support for this measure across both houses of Congress.
The Truman Administration, in 1951, confirmed to the International Court of Justice that the Armenian Genocide constituted a clear case of genocide. President Reagan affirmed the Armenian Genocide in 1981 through Proclamation #4838 and for its part, the U.S. House of Representatives, through HJR148 in 1975 and HJR247 in 1984, has properly marked this genocidal crime. Yet, over the better part of four decades, the U.S. government, fearful of Turkey’s threats, has resorted to evasive terminology and offensive euphemisms, compromising the truth and, with it, both our international standing on issues of human rights, religious freedom, and genocide prevention. That has to end, which is why we need S.Res.150.
As you can imagine, Senate condemnation of this crime will hold great meaning for the descendants of all its victims, including millions of Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Greeks, Pontians, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites and other Christians, many of whom found safe haven here in the United States.
Thank you for your support and for sharing with me any further actions or votes your take on this matter.
Letter to U.S. Senators who have NOT co-sponsored S.Res.150
I am writing, in the wake of the overwhelming adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.296, in the U.S. House, to ask you to cosponsor S.Res.150 and publicly call for immediate consideration of this human rights resolution on the Senate floor.
As you know, S.Res.150, calls for the U.S. to properly commemorate this crime, to distance America from genocide denial, and to make sure that the lessons of this mass murder are used to prevent future atrocities. The 405 to 11 House vote, on October 29th, speaks to the broad bipartisan support for this measure across both houses of Congress.
The Truman Administration, in 1951, confirmed to the International Court of Justice that the Armenian Genocide constituted a clear case of genocide. President Reagan affirmed the Armenian Genocide in 1981 through Proclamation #4838 and for its part, the U.S. House of Representatives, through HJR148 in 1975 and HJR247 in 1984, has properly marked this genocidal crime. Yet, over the better part of four decades, the U.S. government, fearful of Turkey’s threats, has resorted to evasive terminology and offensive euphemisms, compromising the truth and, with it, both our international standing on issues of human rights, religious freedom, and genocide prevention. That has to end, which is why we need S.Res.150.
As you can imagine, Senate condemnation of this crime will hold great meaning for the descendants of all its victims, including millions of Armenians, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Greeks, Pontians, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites and other Christians, many of whom found safe haven here in the United States.
Thank you for your support and for sharing with me any further actions or votes your take on this matter.
Letter to President Trump and Vice-President Pence
I am writing, in the wake of the nearly unanimous adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.296, in the U.S. House, to urge you to end U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide by properly referencing the Armenian Genocide as ‘genocide’. The facts of the Armenian Genocide are well known to all, universally affirmed by genocide scholars, and thoroughly documented in our own American archives.
America must only have a single moral standard on issues of genocide – total opposition to this crime and zero-tolerance policy for denial. Turkey has no right to veto American policy on issues of genocide, and U.S. leaders – speaking in the name of the American people – have no right to let foreign powers bully us into silence on matters of human rights.
I encourage you to fully and formally reject Turkey’s gag rule and embrace an honest American remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, support S.Res.150, and commit the United States, as a policy priority, to a truthful and just international resolution of this still unpunished crime.
In making this request, I am joined by all our allies in America’s genocide-prevention community and our friends in the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian/Chaldeans/Syriac and other Christian targeted by Turkey’s genocidal campaign. Thank you for considering my views on this matter. I will be following the news to learn of your position on the Armenian Genocide.