Israel officially recognized the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire

The Israeli government has approved the proposal of Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to recognize the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. This is the first official recognition of the Armenian genocide by the Israeli government.

According to Saar, the decision was made “based on moral and historical duty.” “In my opinion, this is our moral duty as Jews and, of course, as a state of the Jewish people,” the minister said. At the government meeting, he also emphasized: “It’s never too late to do the right thing.”

Earlier, on June 25, Saar announced his intention to bring this issue to the cabinet for consideration. The draft decision stated that Israel recognizes the Armenian genocide and condemns any attempts to deny, downplay or distort historical truth.

We are talking about events that began in April 1915, in the last years of the Ottoman Empire - the predecessor of modern Turkey. First, in Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, hundreds of people - representatives of the Armenian diaspora - were arrested, deported and killed. The Ottoman authorities then moved on to systematically exterminate the Armenian population. Historians estimate that approximately one and a half million people died.

These events were officially recognized by more than 30 countries, including the USA, EU countries, Canada, Russia and Argentina.

Türkiye does not deny the events that took place in 1915 with the Armenian population, but disputes the term “genocide” and considers the number of victims to be exaggerated.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry called the Israeli decision political and related to the situation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israel Defense Forces are conducting a military operation against the Hamas group, recognized as terrorist in the United States and the European Union. Fighting in Gaza began following a jihadist attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Then more than a thousand people died, more than 250 were taken hostage by Hamas. Türkiye takes a pro-Palestinian position and condemns Israel's actions in the sector.

“The Israeli government seeks to hide its own crimes by making a political decision on the events of 1915. Israel’s decision is political in nature and ignores historical and legal facts,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement .

Until now, Israel has refrained from official recognition, including due to fears of worsening relations with Turkey and complicating its strategic partnership with Azerbaijan. Baku opposes recognition of the Armenian genocide at the beginning of the 20th century, and is now in the process of establishing relations with Armenia after returning Karabakh to its control.

In addition, the Israeli political leadership has long avoided comparing this topic with the Holocaust. In 2018, the Knesset already discussed the possibility of recognizing the Armenian genocide, but the government did not make an appropriate decision then.

Yerevan has not yet commented on Israel's decision. In recent years, the Armenian authorities have stated that the issue of recognizing the Armenian genocide is not a priority on the country’s official foreign policy agenda, the Armenian Service of Radio Liberty clarifies .