This week, Armenian Youth Federation – a youth wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – staged a protest against Israel in front of the Israeli Consulate in West Los Angeles. The protest was intended to intimidate and bully Israel and the Jewish community for supporting Azerbaijan, as my nation is currently fighting off an Armenian military aggression and occupation, an illegal occupation that has been utterly condemned by the United States, the United Nations and almost the entire international community. This latest aggression that was unleashed by Armenia on September 27 has resulted in the death of 63 Azerbaijani civilians, including many infants and children, and wounding of over 290.
One of the most offensive signs at the Los Angeles protest accused Israel and Jews of being the same as Nazis. The sign literally said: “You are not any better than the Nazi Germany”. I don’t need to explain why that is a most disturbing and disgusting reference, however the background and ideology in that sentiment is something much more concerning.
Most are unaware of Armenia’s problem with antisemitism. In the Anti-Defamation League’s global index of antisemitism, Armenia is ranked as the second most antisemetic country in Europe and one of the top three most antisemitic in the world outside the Middle East and North Africa. In 2018, a Pew Research Center survey found that 32 percent of Armenians would not accept Jews as fellow citizens, making Armenia the most unfriendly country toward Jews in Eastern and Central Europe. It isn’t something the loud Armenian American lobby likes to highlight, as it wouldn’t help the cause of misleading the American public.
Moreover, a state-sponsored glorification of Armenian Nazi collaborators continues to this day. A huge statue of Garegin Nzhdeh, a Nazi general of Armenian origin, adorns the center of Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan. Nzhdeh is considered a national hero and in addition to the statue, a square and metro station in Yerevan are named after him, and his “legacy” is taught to children in Armenian public schools. Nzhdeh collaborated with the Nazis as one of the commanders of the infamous “Armenian Legion” of the Wehrmacht. This unit fought in Crimea, the Caucasus, and southern France, as the Nazis rounded up Jews and resistance fighters to be marched to the death camps. The same Nazi collaborator Nzdheh founded the Armenian Youth Federation that staged the aforementioned anti-Israel protest in Los Angeles!
Another glorified Armenian Nazi general is Drastamat Kanayan (better known as General Dro), commander of the “Armenian Legion”. The government of Armenia established the Drastamat Kanayan Institute of National Strategic Studies, and the Ministry of Defense established a medal in his name to decorate military personnel and civilians who excel in military teaching.
Last week, Armenia invited infamous members of the neo-Nazi German “Alternative für Deutschland” (Alternative for Germany) party to the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan; the trip intended to rally support for the continued occupation. Another vocal supporter of Armenia’s war against Azerbaijan is Dutch politician and white supremacist Geert Wilders.
The criminal warfare Armenia commits daily against Azerbaijan is inseparable from the philosophy that propels it; driven by deranged and archaic race theories, white supremacy and Islamophobia, and so it is unsurprising that the few supporters backing their invasion and aggression are known white supremacists and neo-Nazis.
While Armenia protests against Israel and calls Jewish people Nazis, while Armenia hosts condemned neo-Nazis and sends a contingent to support Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, Azerbaijan continues to defend her sovereign territory and civilians, with Jewish, Muslim and Christian Azerbaijani soldiers fighting to not only defend the innocent targets of Armenian shells, but to liberate the stolen territory Armenia has illegally occupied for almost 30 years, with hopes and prayers to return the nearly 800,000 forcibly displaced Azerbaijanis to the land and homes of their birth, where they have longed to return all these years.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.