USPCN commemorates the Armenian Genocide

United States Palestinian Community Network commemorates the Armenian Genocide and Affirms its Solidarity with the Armenian People

On April 24th, 1915, exactly 100 years ago, the Ottoman Empire (precursor to the modern day state of Turkey) arrested, deported, and assassinated hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, community organizers, and workers. This date marks the formal start of the Armenian Genocide. Driven by nationalistic impulses, and coming after years of propaganda targeting Armenians as a fifth column, the regime heightened its persecution—conscripting many into forced military service, deporting hundreds of thousands, massacring scores of villages and towns, and leading entire communities on death marches.

Joining an already present Armenian community in Palestine, many of those exiled during the genocide found a home amongst Palestinians in Haifa, Bethlehem, and Jaffa, as well as within the walls of our beloved Jerusalem. For the last hundred years, we have struggled together. They continue to bear with us the brunt of the Israeli settler-colonial attempts at elimination and domination. We are one.

When we remember today, we remember to honor and commemorate those who have fallen, those who fought, and those who survived. We do so while affirming the right of the Armenian people to the self-determination of their own history and future—the right of every people, everywhere.

We will never forget.