Category: Main Issues

  • Turkish court launches probe into apology campaign to Armenia

    Turkish court launches probe into apology campaign to Armenia

    The office of the Ankara Public Prosecutor launched Friday an investigation into an Internet campaign to issue a public apology to Armenians.

    Six prosecutors submitted a petition calling for a penalty for the organizers of the apology campaign for “insulting the Turkish nation openly” under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

    The Ankara public prosecutor’s office started an investigation into the issue following the prosecutors’ demand.

    Around 200 Turkish academics, writers and journalists launched a website issuing an apology to Armenians regarding the 1915 incidents and called for people to sign on in support.

    The efforts of the intellectuals drew fierce reaction in Turkey and incited counter website campaigns, and exhibitions containing information and photographs from studies conducted into the events.

    Opening a file in the Article 301, a law that makes insulting Turkishness a crime, requires the permission of the Justice Ministry.

    Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915.Turkey rejects the claims saying that 300,000 Armenians, along with at least as many Turks, died in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took up arms, backed by Russia, for independence in eastern Anatolia.

     

    The issue remains unsolved as Armenia drags its feet on accepting Turkey’s proposal to form an independent commission to investigate the claims.

     

    Hurriyet Daily News Online

  • Kurmandji Leader Apologizes to Aramaeans, Armenians – Colonial England and France Should Follow

    Kurmandji Leader Apologizes to Aramaeans, Armenians – Colonial England and France Should Follow

    Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis

    The crimes and the massacres committed against the Aramaeans (Syriacs or Suryanis) and the Armenians in the north-eastern Ottoman territories during WW I were almost entirely perpetrated by the indigenous Kurmandji and Zaza populations who are different from the Turks and from one another, and cannot be categorized as fake “Kurds”.

    The events were mostly due to forced displacement of mainly the Armenian populations who had been incited by the colonial powers of England, France and Russia to pursue a disastrous attitude, to betray their own country, and to turn against their own homeland, the Ottoman Empire. For this reason, in legal defense of its own territory, the Ottoman administration rightfully decided to transfer the Armenians to other regions where they would not be able to disturb the heroic Ottoman army which was simultaneously fighting against the Russians, the English and the French.

    While crossing areas inhabited by Zazas and Kurmandjis, the Armenians have been decimated, but there was no Ottoman plan for this – which would have automatically implied the existence of a genocide.

    The events triggered greater friction between Muslim and Christian populations, and the tragic events affected greatly the Aramaeans as well. Because of the insecurity, sort of protection was sought after by some Aramaeans (mainly the Nestorians) from the Russians – which worsened the situation and ended with the destruction of the Julamerg (today Hakkari) Patriarchate at Kutchanus (1916).

    Instead of asking Turkey (an inexistent state at those days) to apologize for an inexistent plan of another state that does not exist anymore (the Ottoman Empire), the Armenians, collectively as nation, should apologize to the Turks for the Armenian high treason against the Ottoman Empire.

    A great example has been recently given by an enlightened and brave Kurmandji political leader, Ahmet Turk, who originates from Mardin, an area populated by Aramaeans densely before WW I and scarcely thereafter.

    With his great paradigm, Ahmet Turk introduces an element of ethics and moral responsibility into the politics of Turkey and the wider Middle East – in striking contrast with the gangsters Talabani and Barzani who idiotically believe the lies and the false promises of the criminal colonial English and French diplomats and statesmen, and the ´guarantees´ of the evil pro-English part of the US establishment.

    In fact, the only to present their excuses and the only to pay for their criminal deeds in the said area are the Freemasonic colonial elites of England and France.

    A union of Christians and Muslims in the wider area of the Middle East should be formed to help all the gravely affected indigenous nations and peoples, and to eliminate every colonial infiltration and presence in the area – target of the evil Freemasonic elites of the West.

    I republish here an enlightening feature from the Aram Nahrin portal which sheds more light on the recent developments.

    An Important Kurdish Leader in Turkey Apologizes for the Contribution of the Kurds to the Aramean Genocide of 1915 – Appeal to Ahmet Turk

    Ahmet Turk is the Leader of the Kurdish Party For Democratic Society (Demokratik Toplum Partisi= DTP) in Turkey. During his trip on 30-12-2008 in South-Eastern of Turkey through the province of Mardin, Mr. Turk visited along with other party leaders various historical and tourist places. Amongst others, he visited the Aramean Cultural Association in Midyat and the Aramean monastery St. Gabriel. During his conversation with the Arameans of Tur Abdin Ahmet Turk apologized for the contribution of the Kurds to the Aramean genocide of 1915, as has been published on the Turkish Websites of , , see below.

    Although Ahmet Turk did not mention the word ‘Genocide’, yet his statement is a important step in the right direction in a country where such statements are taboo.

    Mr. Turk said, “Because of the sorrow of the heartrending events, we feel necessary to apologize”.

    Please find below the articles published on the website of and , with the right column the original Turkish text and left column the English translation.

    In Turkey there are around 20.000 Arameans of which major part is living in Istanbul. In Tur Abdin there are but around 2.000 Arameans. In the Turkey the Arameans are known as “Suryani”. The English translation sounds like “Syrian”, which is a synonymy for Aramean.

    During the genocide of 1915 beside Armenians, around 600.000 Arameans were killed ( More about this horrible genocide:

    The recognition of the Aramean physical genocide by a prominent Kurdish leader is a step in the right direction. Hopefully more Kurds will follow his example and finally also the Turks will do this. However, with that there is no end to the matter.

    Contrary to the Armenians and Greeks, the Arameans also have suffered the horrible spiritual genocide. This spiritual genocide is the extermination of the Aramean cultural heritage by the Western missionaries and diplomats in the 16th and 19th century whereby the Arameans were exposed to fanaticism, nationalism and fake identities. In the 16th century the Catholics along with France brainwashed by means of blackmail and bribery a part of the East- Aramean Nestorians to call themselves “Chaldeans” and as a result of that in 1553 the “Chaldean Church of Babylon” was established. As a counter-maneuver, the same game was repeated in the 19th century, this time by the Anglican mission along with the British diplomats and brainwashed the remaining part of the East- Aramean Nestorians to call themselves henceforth “Assyrians”.

    In this way through the zealous efforts of the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Mission, in the name of ‘Jesus’; an unprecedented nationalism mixed with religion was implemented with terrible consequences for the part of our nation. A cultural genocide was carried out against our nation. And this genocide is today shameless and criminally is being continued (More about this: )

    The hypocrisy and viciousness with many Western “genocide experts” is that they refuse to point at delicate matters where the West is concerned, namely the fact that the spiritual genocide has reinforced the physical genocide. The reason for this refusal and hesitation to acknowledge their deliberate machinations could be a significant indication that there is more going on than de killings of Arameans by the Turks and Kurds. Most probably the Western powers have, through the mediation of their proxies and diverse secret society and implacable international networks, participated in this abominable genocide, not to say orchestrated.

    How do they act regarding these heinous machinations? To present themselves as “the good ones”, “the civilized ones” and to put their “goodness and morality” in the spotlight, they ran the Turks into the ground and portray them as the most evil and barbaric nation. We believe that this is rather a shame-cover for their own crimes than bringing the unimaginable sorrow which the Aramean and other Christians have suffered under the Ottoman Empire under the attention of the world .

    As though this is not immoral and objectionable enough, these racist and horrible bandits continue with all happiness to designate our nation as “Assyrians”, as if their forefathers have done a good and a holy job with the spiritual cultural extermination of our nation.

    As Arameans we have a long path to go. With the recognition of the Aramean Physical genocide, the matter is certainly not finished. On the contrary, the recognition of Aramean spiritual genocide is even more important, because the diffused Western hatred and division, which is still being continued, finally will result in the complete extermination of the Aramean nation. Today, we see this very clearly in Iraq. And the traitors among us, seem along with some of their western spiritual creators and criminals, to achieve this very soon.

    Spiritual cultural genocide committed by the PKK – Appeal to Ahmet Turk and other Kurdish leaders for condemnation

    The Aramean physical genocide was indeed committed by the Turks and Kurds. Most probably, this genocide was orchestrated by the satanic and the criminal Jesus of the West through their proxies and secret societies. We would not be amazed that many high level Turkish as well as Kurdish leader responsible for this horrible crimes against humanity were controlled by the abominable proxies of the Jesus of the West, who definitely should not be confused with the Jesus Christ of the Bible.

    If today some independent conscientious Turkish scholars along with Kurdish scholars would dig in the history of this terrible genocide, they most probably would be utterly shocked to discover that those who orchestrated at the high level this genocide are not of Turkish origin at all, but are the children of Jesus of the West with completely different nationality than they ever would imagine. Probably some of them know, but do not dare to call a spade a spade.

    The tactic of the criminal Jesus of the West is always to exterminate by their proxies so that nobody would ever discover the real perpetrators.

    Similar crimes have been orchestrated by the Satanic Jesus of the West in 1993 when a covenant was coined between the PKK and the apostate Arameans who call themselves “Assyrians”. Please find here more on this crimes against the Aramean nation: . Below we summarize this criminal monstrous covenant to exterminate the Aramean culrural heritage.

    This covenant between the PKK and the apostate Arameans who call themselves “Assyrians” was coined as follows:

    Establishment of a sister-organization of PKK and recruitment of youth in the West.

    Falsification of Aramean identity, Mr. Ocalan himself says “We will change history”.

    If the PKK would prevail, the “Assyrians” would share in this victory.

    After this covenant was made, a horrible spiritual genocide initiated against the Aramean nation in many Kurdish media by the PKK. Everywhere the Arameans were called “Assyrians”, thus a horrible “Assyrianization” campaign was started. A cultural extermination of the satanic Jesus of the West was now conducted by the PKK and wicked spiritual colonial children of the Jesus of the West, the “Assyrians”. And this spiritual cultural genocide of PKK against the Aramean nation continues until these days. In many Kurdish and Turkish newspapers they designate our people in English as “Assyrians”, which is a fake and a crime of the first order.

    The Turkish word “Suryaniler” means Syrians in English. And the word Syrian is a Synonymy for Arameans and certainly not for “Assyrians”. In Turkish is this: Suryaniler= Aramiler, English: Syrians= Arameans. Please find here the famous scholars of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch who all testify on the Synonymy Aramean/Syrian.

    What the apostate Arameans who call themselves “Assyrians” are doing is that they follow the criminal western invention of the lost- A trick which states that “Syria” is a shortened form of “Assyria”. See more on this matter:

    For this reason we appeal to Ahmet Turk and other conscientious Kurdish leaders and say:

    1. Condemn the spiritual cultural extermination campaign of PKK to designate the Aramean / Suryani people in the Kurdish media as “Assyrians”.

    2. Condemn the spiritual genocide committed by the satanic Jesus of the West.

    3. Mobilize other conscientious Kurds and make them aware of the horrendous covenant between PKK and the satanic Western spiritual colonization and slavery product “Assyrians”.

    4. Warn all the Kurdish English language media under your sphere of influence to respect the Suryani/ Aramiler people and never call them by the wicked, colonial Western designation “Assyrians”.

    5. Ahmet Turk says “When I encounter today a Armenian and Syrian brothers and look at them, we feel ashamed”. The PKK should be even more ashamed than that, because they carried out a evil plan against the Aramean nation to “Assyrianize” them; a plan which was initiated by the immoral and apostate western Christianity. Therefore PKK should apologize for this crime and stop with glorifying it. It is a worst form of genocide!

    Annex 1

    The Kurds apologize for the first time

    30 December 2008/21:50

    During his visit to the Syrian Cultural Association in Midyat in the province of Mardin, the Chairman of DTP, Ahmet Turk, made an apologize to the Syrians for the events which took place in the year 1915.

    Perhaps, we the Kurds had also played a role in the killings of these (cutural) heritages.

    When I encounter today a Armenian and Syrian brothers and look at them, we feel ashamed”, he said.

    We Apologize

    The leader of DTP who came to Midyat in the district Mardin along with the general secretary and Mardin parliamentarian Emine Ayna, Diyarbekir parliamentarian Aysel Tugluk and Sanliurfa parliamentarian Ibrahim Binici, visited together tourist and historical places in the province.

    After that, they visited under leadership of chairman Turk of DTP, de Syrian Cultural Association in Midyat and spoke with the Chairman Yuhanna Aktas and the members of the association.

    On the reality of the events of 1915, the DTP leader Ahmet Turk said this:

    Because of the sorrow of the heartrending events, we feel necessary to apologize”.

    When we see Armenians and Syrians, we feel ashamed.

    Qualifying the geography of Mesopotamia and the place of civilizations, Turk went on in this way:

    The Kurds, Armenians, and Yezidis live as distinct ethnics, with their faith, without discrimination very well with each other.

    With the protection of preventing discrimination, we will become god people.

    Of course our brothers Armenians, our brothers Syrians have lived under the process of continued sorrow.

    Our Kurdish brothers suffer today the same sorrow.

    We should not forget that in the past the Kurds have been used against other brothers, a factual happening to search the history very well for it and it is important to learn lessons from that history.

    Perhaps, we the Kurds had also played a role in the killings of these (cultural) heritages.

    When I encounter today a Armenian and Syrian brothers and look at them, we feel ashamed.

    This also I wanted to state clearly”.

    Ahmet Turk and the DTP board visited after that the Deyrulummer monstery situated in the Midyat district and spoke with bishop Samuel Aktas of Tur Abdin.

    Annex 2

    Makes An Apology to the Syrians

    31.12.2008 01:35

    During his visit to the Syrian Cultural Association in Midyat in the province of Mardin, the Chairman of DTP, Ahmet Turk, made an apologize to the Syrians for the events which took place in the year 1915.

    During his visit to the Syrian Cultural Association in Midyat in the province of Mardin, the Chairman of DTP, Ahmet Turk, made an apologize to the Syrians for the events which took place in the year 1915.

    Qualifying the geography of Mesopotamia and the place of civilizations, Turk went on in this way: “The Kurds, Armenians, and Yezidis live as distinct ethnics, with their faith, without discrimination very well with each other.

    Our Kurdish brothers suffer today the same sorrow.

    We should not forget that in the past the Kurds have been used against other brothers, a factual happening to search the history very well for it and it is important to learn lessons from that history.

    When I encounter today a Armenian and Syrian brothers and look at them, we feel ashamed.

    Because of the sorrow of the heartrending events, we feel necessary to apologize.

    This also I wanted to state clearly”.

    Note

    Picture: Kurdish chieftain Soto among Aramaean doctors to whose advise he sought when ill; later he engaged his forces against them, and died in fight at the times of WW I (http://www.aina.org/books/fla/fla.htm).

  • Obama will/may be OK after all for Turkey

    Obama will/may be OK after all for Turkey

    January 06, 2009

    Recent news reports indicate that Barack Obama has been receiving advice from Brent Scowcroft.[1]

    Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft wrote a Washington Post piece, entitled “Middle East priorities for Jan. 21,”on November 21, 2008. “We believe that the Arab-Israeli peace process is one issue that requires priority attention,…The major elements of an agreement are well known. A key element in any new initiative would be for the U.S. president to declare publicly what, in the view of this country, the basic parameters of a fair and enduring peace ought to be. These should contain four principal elements: 1967 borders, with minor, reciprocal and agreed-upon modifications; compensation in lieu of the right of return for Palestinian refugees; Jerusalem as real home to two capitals; and a non militarized Palestinian state.”

    Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was deputy national-security adviser under Mr. Scowcroft in the George H.W. Bush administration, was also retained by President elect Obama, a Scowcroft protégé and another close Scowcroft friend, Gen. James Jones was tapped for the National Security Council. Other prominent Republicans with close ties to Mr. Obama include former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who endorsed the Democrat in the final days of the campaign, and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who shares Mr. Scowcroft’s philosophy and has the distinction of getting a very poor report card from the Armenian National Committee of America.

    First thing on their plate will be the conflict at Gaza. However come April the Turkish position will be made very clearly for the new president.

    [1] Brent Scowcroft (born March 19, 1925 in Ogden, Utah) was the United States National Security Advisor under Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush and a Lieutenant General in the United States Air Force. He also served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He also served as Chairman of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005.

    He received his undergraduate degree and commission into the Army Air Forces from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.

    Brent Scowcroft, is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Turkish Council (ATC)

    Labels: diplomacy, politics, USA

    posted by M.A.M at 11:57 PM

  • US ARMENIAN LIFE MAGAZINE – ARSIVDEKI SOZDE SOYKIRIM CALISMALARI

    US ARMENIAN LIFE MAGAZINE – ARSIVDEKI SOZDE SOYKIRIM CALISMALARI

    File Name Last Modified
    08-04-2008.pdf 08/04/2008
    07-31-2008.pdf 07/31/2008
    05-29-2008.pdf 05/29/2008
    05-28-2008.pdf 05/28/2008
    11-05-2007.pdf 11/05/2007
    08-29-2007.pdf 08/29/2007
    08-24-2007.pdf 08/24/2007
  • Turks’ Apology to Armenians Should Include Justice

    Turks’ Apology to Armenians Should Include Justice

    Today’s Turkish state has both assets and liabilities

    By Appo Jabarian

    Executive Publisher
    & Managing Editor

    Friday,  January 2, 2009

    For Armenians and Turks, the Year 2008 will go down in the annals of history as a memorable year, because of the transformation taking place in Turkish society.

    A few weeks ago, over 200 Turkish intellectuals and academicians initiated “We apologize to Armenians” campaign, further weakening the decades-old taboo on openly discussing in Turkey one of the darkest pages of its history.
    The text of the online petition reads: “My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected to in 1915. I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers and sisters. I apologize to them.”
    Besides Turkish, the “Apology” campaign text was also available in Arabic, Armenian, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Italian, Kurdish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
    As of Monday December 30 midnight Los Angeles time, there were:
    – 25829 signatures gathered on the www.ozurdiliyoruz.com website;
    – 244 worldwide websites on google search engines mentioning the campaign; and
    – 371 on Yahoo!
    – Several major world media carrying “Apology” campaign-related news items and articles.
    The campaign ignited an unprecedented nationwide public debate in Turkey.
    While the petition organizers deserve acknowledgment for their integrity and courage for having taken the first step in coming to terms with their own history, they need to be encouraged not to let the ultra nationalists hijack their plans for comprehensive justice for the Armenians.
    In my opinion, the “Apology” shall not lack follow-up action. And the level of the intended righteous deeds should be commensurate to the magnitude of the crime of the Genocide with all its ramifications: 1) The loss of over 1.5 million innocent lives of indigenous Armenians; 2) The forcible occupation of the lands of Western Armenia and Cilicia; 3) The personal property losses resulting from systematic usurpation of the victims’ real and personal properties.
    Anything short of this will surely be qualified as incomplete or insincere efforts by Turks.
    In order to make this petition worthwhile, both the petitioners and their opponents shall muster all the courage to equally recognize that they are the descendants of both the perpetrators of the crime and of the numerous righteous Turks who risked their own lives in order to save many Armenians from death. Armenians around the world gratefully remember these good-hearted members of the Turkish Holy Islam in Konya and elsewhere in Turkey.
    They should also recognize that inheriting today’s Turkey from its Ottoman predecessor makes them proprietors of both the assets and liabilities of the Ottoman Empire.
    How could one overlook current Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul‘s unwitting confession of Turkey’s guilt in the Armenian Genocide? Gonul made a scandalous public statement on Armenians and Greeks in Brussels on November 10. He said: “If Greeks continued to live in the Aegean and Armenians continued to live in many places in Turkey, I wonder whether there would be today’s nation-state.… I don’t know how to tell you about the importance of this exchange. But if you look at the old balances, the importance of this would very clearly arise.”
    To the Turkish opponents and proponents of “We apologize” campaign, the online petition represents one of the rare opportunities to convert the liabilities of the genocide to national assets by genuinely bringing justice to the victims: the Armenians.
    I am sure that millions of Turks would much prefer to “travel light,” free of the heavy “luggage” full of dark pages of their collective memory. They would also appreciate seeing their nation getting off the list of the pariah states of this planet.
    It’s not an easy task to inherit the wholesale loot robbed from defenseless Armenian victims. No human logic would allow the Turkish heirs to say on the one hand “the crime was not committed by this generation, therefore we’re not responsible,” and on the other hand continue possession of the properties obtained secured through criminal activity.
    The ownership of today’s Turkish state comes with both assets and liabilities
  • Defending clients, and choices

    Defending clients, and choices

    Harvey, how could you?

    That’s what every Armenian in Massachusetts is asking. They’re demanding to know how famed defense attorney Harvey Silverglate could take the side of the Turks in the legal standoff over the Armenian tragedy.

    Silverglate’s a stooge, they say, for effectively questioning whether the massacre of more than 1 million Armenians nearly a century ago amounts to genocide or an unfortunate, albeit unfortunately evil, chapter in European history. They wonder if Silverglate, who’s Jewish, would be so solicitous of those extremist screwballs who deny that millions of his people perished in concentration camps during World War II.

    Even bigshots at the ACLU, which has been known to back a controversial cause or two, are scratching their heads.

    But, honestly, how couldn’t Harvey take the case? Beginning with a group of stringy-haired Harvard students protesting the Vietnam War in 1969, the guy’s got a long track record of repping people the public despises. What do Louise Woodward, Michael Milken, and Bernard Baran all have in common? At one point or another, Silverglate sat at their defense table. (To refresh, Woodward was the accused baby shaker from Britain; Milken the junk bond king; and Baran the former Pittsfield day-care provider and alleged pedophile who spent 22 years in prison before Silverglate helped spring him in 2006.)

    “There’s one thing that characterizes all of my high-profile cases,” Silverglate says confidently. “They’re all innocent.”

    At issue this time is a lawsuit he filed in 2005 that claims state education officials violated the First Amendment by removing material from a human-rights curriculum questioning whether the mass killings in the Ottoman Empire between 1915-1918 constituted genocide. (He filed the lawsuit on behalf of a local high school student, two teachers, and a Turkish-American advocacy organization.)

    Silverglate insists the suit, which is still pending, is about free speech, and not the fact or fiction of the genocide.

    “It’s about the right of people to express differing viewpoints,” he says. “The school department had initially included scholarly articles on both sides of the debate, but under political pressure, deleted those articles that argued it wasn’t a genocide.

    “That’s censorship,” says Silverglate.

    Nonsense, argue Armenians. They contend the Turks’ version of events – that the deaths and deportations were the result of a massive armed rebellion by Armenians that also killed many Turks – has been discredited and isn’t entitled to equal time in the classroom or anywhere else.

    It’d be an understatement to say Armenians are upset with Silverglate. (And too bad for him, Massachusetts has the country’s second-largest Armenian population.) One prominent Armenian, Carolyn Mugar – she of the philanthropic Star Market Mugars – lives next door to Silverglate in Cambridge. While they’re not at each other’s throats like the neighbors in Thomas Berger’s darkly comic novel, they’re also not as chummy as they once were.

    “The genocide is a fact of history at this point,” says Anthony Barsamian, a Wellesley attorney and spokesman for the Armenian Assembly of America. “Denial is being put out of business. Free speech is free speech, but there’s also right and wrong.”

    Even in the context of some of Silverglate’s previous celebrated cases – he counseled the Queen of Mean Leona Helmsley and had a hand in the Claus von Bulow case – this is considered by his critics to be a new low. Barsamian, like a lot of Armenians, doubts he’d be in such a rush to defend, say, folks who deny the Holocaust ever happened.

    Oh, don’t be so sure. Consider this: During all the hubbub over desegregation and school busing in the 1970s, a crew of neo-Nazis showed up in Boston wearing whatever it is neo-Nazis wear. They were promptly arrested for disturbing the peace, and detained.

    The ACLU asked Harvey if he would give the Hitler-loving louts the benefit of some legal aid. He did, without hesitation, and before long the wannabe brownshirts were back on the street.

    “Of all of my cases, fewer words never passed between me and a client,” says Silverglate, chuckling at the memory. “They didn’t thank me, and I didn’t expect they would.”

    So, would he help Holocaust deniers?

    “Absolutely. The First Amendment is useless if you only defend people you agree with,” Silverglate says. “My family was from Poland and Russia, and they were all wiped out. I hold no brief for the Nazis. But it’s not a crime to deny the Holocaust. It’s a position.”