NEW YORK (ArmRadio)—In a recent meeting held in New York with the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation (IRWF), representatives Mordecai Paldiel and Zvika Kichel, Charles Aznavour confirmed the riveting story of courage in which his late parents, Knar and Mischa, as well as his sister Aida and himself, had played a key role during the dark days of the Nazi occupation in France.
With a great sense of humbleness, Aznavour told how his parents gave shelter at their own home to Jews, Armenians and others who were persecuted by the Nazis. By so doing, the Aznavours had given the gift of life to other, while risking their own.
The IRWF has resolved to set-up a special research team to further investigate the feats of the Aznavour family and at the same time, all the Board Members of the NGO have unanimously decided to pay tribute to the Aznavours.
In a personal letter signed by the Chairman of the IRWF, Eduardo Eurnekian and by its Founder, Baruch Tenembaum, Aznavour was greeted on his 92th birthday and informed about two initiatives. The first one is to commission a special commemorative stamp to be issued by the Israel Postal Authority with the semblance of Mischa and Knar Aznavour, Charles’s late parents. The second one is to award the Raoul Wallenberg Medal to both siblings, Aida and Charles Aznavour, who as young people helped their parents in their life-saving mission.
Eurnekian said “The Aznavour family is an example of humble and decent people who did not stand idly by when faced with evil. His mother, Knar, nee Baghdasarian, was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide and she understood the plight of the Jewish people and all those who were brutally persecuted by Nazism. It is our duty to recognize the heroism of the Aznavour family and instill their spirit of civic courage in the hearts and minds of the young generations.”
The letter reads:
Dear Mr. Aznavour,
Let us start this letter by congratulating you on 92th birthday! We wish you good health and many more years of productiveness in your artistic, diplomatic and humanitarian activities!
We would like to thank you once again for having agreed to meet our Dr. Mordecai Paldiel and Mr. Zvika Kichel in New York. We watched the video of this meeting and were deeply moved by your humble approach and the courageous deeds undertaken by your dear late parents, your sister Aida and yourself, during the dark days of Holocaust. We also thank your son, Nicolas, for having arranged this gathering in such an efficient way.
As a result of this preliminary audience, we have instructed our research team to try and secure more information about the feats of your family during WWII and of course, we shall keep you duly posted.
At the same time, in a special meeting held by our Board, it has been unanimously resolved to pay tribute to your late parents, Mischa and Knar, as well as both you and Aida, as a token of recognition to your spirit of solidarity. The fact that you have given shelter and protection at your own home, to people from all faiths who were persecuted by the Nazis, is something that has to be remembered and recognized. We have therefore resolved to ask the Israeli Postal Authorities to make a special and limited stamp issue dedicated to your late parents. Should this be agreeable, our team in Israel will contact Nicolas with some administrative information (we would need some good photos of your parents as well as a written authorization from you to approach the Israel Postal Authorities).
Furthermore, it was decided to bestow upon you and your sister Aida, a special award, the Raoul Wallenberg Medal, in recognition of the role you played during the Shoah and for your staunch and consistent support of humanitarian causes.
As soon as we receive the acceptance from you and your sister, we shall coordinate with you the details and logistics of the award ceremony.
Thanking you in advance, we remain at your disposal should you require any further information on our end.”
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Another worthless gesture by Israel to appease Armenians globally who have woken up to the fact that Israel is , never was and never will be a friend of Armenia & Armenians, over 90 of our young men died at the hands of the invading azeri tartars when they attacked, the azeris were further encouraged by the supply of laser guided anti tank misses which were used very effectively
Israel was aware and had been notified of the forthcoming blitzkrieg by azerbaijan, yet Israel grabbed the money and sent the missiles.
Send the medal back to the Israel Mr Aznavour and do not insult the memory of your parents with the blood soaked Israeli stamps
Israel is not our friend and is complicit in the denial of the Armenian Genocide
For Israel everything is business as usual, they have NO values except what’s in it for me, Turkey will recognize the Genocide before Israel does.
The blame is deserved by the right-wing government that values more Azeri via Turkish “support” in Gaza and the region than basic humanity. Yet I have heard from Israelis and diaspora Jews that they know and mourn this policy, and have very much in mind the 1915 Holocaust. Issuing the stamp I see as an independent effort for atonement. It will be seen by (and hopefully move) the Israeli government.
His parents were the Aznavourians. He changed his name to Aznavour. I hope they get it right on the stamp.
Good point
Maybe Charles can ask them to stop arming the Azeris who are decapitating and mutilating our countrymen.
Why it took so long, Why now, he’s 92, he would have died by now?
Armenian physician honored by Israel for saving Jews during the Holocaust
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/02/07/armenian-physician-honored-by-israel-for-saving-jews-during-the-holocaust/
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Khachatrian, a military doctor with the Soviet Red Army, was taken prisoner during World War II. In the concentration camp where he was kept by the Nazis he HELPED MANY JEWS (Today’s Israelis) as a physician.
Haroutyoun Khachatryan, has been posthumously awarded the “Righteous among the Nations Award” by the Jewish “Yad Vashem” institute-museum.
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In the early 19th century, Jews began arriving to Armenia from Poland, Iran and other areas – creating Ashkenazic and Mizrahi communities in Yerevan. More Jews moved to Armenia during its period finding more tolerance in the area than in Russia or Ukraine. Armenia gave ISRALIES sanctuary. There were many other countries that helped Israelis, including Syria and Iran.
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Today, unfortunately the same people (JEWS, ISRAELIS) have joined forces with some Arab leaders, Turks and the US/Allies to fund and arm terrorists to harm Armenians and Christians in Syria.
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These WOLVES in Sheepskin are arming Armenia’s neighbour with Drones and other high power weapons to kill Armenians in Karabakh. They are very much involved in killing innocent civilians including Christians in Syria.
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Syria/Iraq has been SHELTER to millions of ETHNIC minorities for centuries. Why does anyone want to destroy it? Learn from Syria about MULTICULTURALISM. Syria should be congratulated. Even “ISRAELIS” used Syria as a safe-heaven. Look at the way THESE “Wolves in sheepskin” show their appreciation. Look what these “ANIMALS” have done to SYRIA/Aleppo?
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KESSAB before & after March 21, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3iaPEyL_Yk
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Remember Kessab 21/3/2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1kSo1oTRIU
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https://armenpress.am/eng/news/697726/
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https://www.google.com.au/search?q=aleppo+2010&biw=1280&bih=831&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiQ9qaO9fTMAhWCp5QKHTm8CdkQsAQIGg
How or where can I get a few of these stamps? Thank you. I am so happy they are being honored with this special tribute… how brave they all were.
They all were braves, but Israeli’s came out Schmucks
Benjamin Netanyahu and all Turk loving Jewish people in charge of the government in Israel take note!
To hell with Israel! To hell with their stamp! Always self-serving, self-promoting. Typical Zionist propaganda! If I were the Aznavour family, I would reject this WAY-PAST-DUE gesture and instead demand of Israel the OFFICIAL RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE! Of all nations on this [God’s green earth] Israel should have been the very FIRST to have done so. But instead, multiple times in the past and just like the USA & Britain, Israel has only toyed with this issue and used it as a political tool in bargaining with Turkey… An utterly despicable choice of strategy which only sprays ‘salt on wounds’ of the Armenian people.
I agree.
It seems that Mr Aznavour(ian)’s parents were wiser than some commenters here.
They acted out of love for their human brethren while these commenters are spewing hate against another people.
Just read what “zarkim” writes – frankly, everybody knows that the Christians of Irak and Syria are victims of a supremacist radical Muslim ideology – the very same ideology that would like to destroy Israel and that caused the Armenian genocide; Israel is in fact the only place in the Middle East where Christians thrive, including in Jerusalem where a quarter of the old city is Armenian…
The Armenian and Jewish people both know where hate leads – ultimately, millions can die. There are political issues between Israel and Armenia, true, but there is no need to spew hate like this – especially based on false arguments.
Je suis d’accord !
It would be much more meaningful to Mr. Aznavour and all Armenians if, in lieu of a stamp, Israel as a nation recognized the Armenian Genocide.