Alien pain

It so coincided that on the day when the materials were being prepared for the centenary of the Armenian genocide, the Jews in Israel and in the diaspora were remembered by those 6 million that died in the Holocaust. However, Israel has so far officially recognized the Armenian genocide. Why? This question NT asked the speaker of the Knesset (Parliament) of Israel to Yuri Edelstein

Israeli Knesset Speaker Yuri Edelstein

- A few years ago, being the Minister of the Israeli Government, I came to Yerevan at the head of the official delegation on the day of commemoration of the dead in 1915 and laid a wreath to the memory memorial. I want to emphasize: I came to Armenia not in personal quality, but as a representative of the official Israeli government, and all my actions were agreed with the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

However, you are right that there is no official decision to recognize the Armenian genocide by Israel yet. Already several times this issue has been discussed in the Knesset, it will again be submitted for discussion in May of this year. Cause? This is due to difficult international relations.

By “difficult international relations” do you mean the unwillingness of Turkey to recognize the fact of genocide?

With Turkey, with Azerbaijan - in different years, different political obstacles arise.

Imagine that on the day of memory of the disaster - this year it came on April 16, you will learn that a number of countries do not recognize the fact of the destruction of the Jewish people during the Second World War. Would you hurt?

Yes, sure.

To whom it is not to Israel, whose people have experienced one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the history of mankind, understand and divide the tragedy of Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks? Do you personally consider it necessary for Israel to recognize the fact of genocide in the Ottoman Empire?

I will answer you like this: in Israel there are many supporters of a positive answer to your question. As the speaker of the parliament, I just signed an instruction on the sending of the Knesset delegation to Yerevan, to events dedicated to this tragedy: as part of our delegation, the leader of the coalition majority, and the opposition leader. I represent the legislative power, parliament, and I do not give assessments of the actions of our executive branch, government.