The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide was the first major conference in the field of genocide studies and marked the shift from viewing genocide as an irrational phenomenon to one that could be studied and understood. It was held at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv on 20–24 June 1982 and was initially organized by Israel Charny, Elie Wiesel, and Shamai Davidson. The Turkish government tried to have the conference cancelled because it included presentations on the Armenian genocide, which Turkey denies. Turkey threatened to close its borders to Syrian and Iranian Jews fleeing persecution. In response, the Israeli government called participants, claiming the conference was cancelled and asking them not to attend. The official Israeli Holocaust memorial and Tel Aviv University withdrew, as did many high-profile participants including Wiesel. The organizers refused to remove the Armenian genocide from the program and held the conference with fewer participants than planned.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Conference_on_the_Holocaust_and_Genocide
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1340:
Hundred Years' War: The English fleet commanded by Edward III almost completely destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of Sluys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sluys
1932:
A group of military officers and civilians engineered a bloodless coup in Siam, ending the absolute rule of the Chakri dynasty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamese_revolution_of_1932
1937:
The U.S. Navy's first two fast battleships, North Carolina and Washington, of the North Carolina class, were respectively ordered from the New York and Philadelphia Naval Shipyards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Carolina-class_battleship
2010:
Julia Gillard was sworn in as the first female prime minister of Australia after incumbent Kevin Rudd declined to contest a leadership spill in the Labor Party. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Gillard
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
merchandising: 1. (also attributively) gerund of merchandise 2. (archaic) Trade in merchandise. 3. (originally US) The promotion of goods for sale in a store, especially through advertising, attractive displays, discounts, etc.; also (generally), the promotion of any goods or services for sale. 4. (specifically) The promotion of a film, music group, theatre production, etc., through the sale of goods bearing motifs associated with the subject being promoted; also, such goods themselves collectively; merchandise. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/merchandising
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Insurrection, n. An unsuccessful revolution. Disaffection's failure to substitute misrule for bad government. --Ambrose Bierce https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce