{"id":183334,"date":"2026-06-29T18:32:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/183334\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T18:32:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T18:32:04","slug":"israel-recognizes-armenian-genocide-as-turkey-ties-fray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/183334\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel recognizes Armenian Genocide as Turkey ties fray"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s never too late to do the right thing,\u201d Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar<\/a> said as Israel moved to recognize the Armenian Genocide<\/a>. He said that he thanked Israel\u2019s prime minister for supporting the decision, and noted the \u201cunanimous approval of the resolution I initiated for Israel\u2019s recognition of the Armenian\u00a0Genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sa\u2019ar added, \u201cIsrael joins 32 countries that have fulfilled a moral duty by recognizing the historical truth, and rejecting attempts to deny it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s recognition of the genocide has been decades in the making. Strangely, for many years, Israel has historically downplayed\u00a0the Armenian<\/a>\u00a0Genocide<\/a>. This was due, in no small part, to foreign policy. Israel and Turkey have had ties even before Israel was recognized as a state. In fact, until the early 2000s, Turkey was a friend of Israel for many years.<\/p>\n

Jews have many reasons to be outspoken about the genocide. Henry Morgenthau, who was Jewish, served as the US ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913-1916 and reported on the massacre of Armenians.<\/p>\n

In the early 2000s, Israeli politicians spoke of the need for recognition. In 2016, MK Zehava Galon said, \u201cI am declaring that the Knesset must recognize the Armenian\u00a0Genocide.\u201d In 2012, the Knesset\u2019s education committee also discussed the need to recognize the genocide.<\/p>\n

\"IsraeliIsraeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar speaks during a meeting of the Subcommittee on Foreign Policy and Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, March 23, 2026. (credit: CHAIM GOLDBERG\/FLASH90)Hitler, Nazis inspired by Armenian Genocide, Israel needed to recognize it<\/p>\n

Turkey has always denied the genocide and made it clear to other countries that it opposes any recognition of it. It is unclear why modern Turkey feels that it\u2019s necessary to deny the atrocities that took place under a previous regime.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at a little history. The Ottoman Empire featured anti-Armenian policies and enacted the massacre of Armenians. Armenians had been living in the Ottoman Empire throughout its existence.<\/p>\n

Like the Christians and other groups, the Armenians were part of the diverse landscape that composed the Ottoman Empire. They lived in Istanbul, as well as in areas of what is now southern, central, and eastern Turkey.<\/p>\n

The situation worsened as nationalism rose. In the 19th century, the Ottomans had to contend with rebellions in their European provinces, such as Greece. They watched as the Greeks, Serbs<\/a>, Bulgarians, Romanians, and other groups sought independence and became their own countries.<\/p>\n

They fought wars against the Russian Empire. They watched as Muslim communities fled into the empire, including Bosnians and Circassians. The latter two had members who were settled by the Ottomans in what was then Ottoman Palestine.<\/p>\n

In the 1890s, there were a series of massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. These were called the Hamidian massacres, after Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Abdul Hamid was reorganizing the empire and wanted to modernize it. The massacres killed 100,000 or more people, and some Christian groups, such as the Assyrians, were also targeted. This set the stage for the genocide around 20 years later.<\/p>\n

In the years prior to the massacre, the empire was changing rapidly. The Young Turks led a revolution in 1908, which spurred increased Turkish nationalism. At the time, Zionism was also on the rise. Jews were moving to the historic Land of Israel. David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi both studied in Istanbul in 1912.<\/p>\n

Two years later, the Turks decided to back the Germans in World War I. In 1915, this led to the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. The authorities in the Ottoman Empire rounded up members of the Armenian minority and began deporting and killing them.<\/p>\n

Their excuse was simple: they claimed that the Armenians were embroiled in their own nationalism, and sought to create a state and back the Russians in World War I.<\/p>\n

The massacres began with ethnic cleansing and deportation, and ended in what has been widely described as a genocide. For those who disagree, they argue that Armenians were either expelled or deported, and that the intent wasn\u2019t genocide. Another argument they use is that large numbers of Turks and other groups were also killed during World War I.<\/p>\n

What is clear is this: millions of Armenians had lived in areas that became modern Turkey, and by the 1920s, there were very few Armenians left. Instead, some had been pushed into the Syrian desert, near Deir Ezzor and the Euphrates River valley.<\/p>\n

Some had ended up as far away as Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and what became British Palestine. Others ended up in what became Soviet Armenia. Ever since, Armenians have sought recognition for the atrocities they have suffered throughout the 20th century.<\/p>\n

The atrocities became well-known after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Special Military Tribunal, established after the war to examine war crimes, convicted Ottoman leader Talaat Pasha in absentia for his role in massacring both Greeks and Armenians.<\/p>\n

Notably, the massacres of Armenians were only one phase of the persecution of Christians that led to the expulsion and massacre of Greeks and Assyrians.<\/p>\n

In 1921, Talaat was killed in Berlin by an Armenian assassin. However, by then, the damage was done. Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were inspired by the Armenian Genocide, and subsequently enacted the Holocaust. Because of this, it is clear that Jewish and Armenian history is deeply connected by their joint suffering.<\/p>\n

Diplomatic relations with Turkey, others held back Armenian Genocide recognition<\/p>\n

The modern state of Israel, as mentioned earlier, did not want to rock the boat with Turkey. The resulting controversy didn\u2019t just affect Israel \u2013 its reach extended to Jewish groups in the US, too.<\/p>\n

For instance, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was forced into the spotlight in the early 2000s. As The Jerusalem Post noted in 2007, the ADL \u201creinstated Andrew Tarsy as its New England regional director\u2026 Tarsy was fired on August 17 after publicly voicing opposition to the organization\u2019s refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide. Abraham Foxman later reversed the organization\u2019s position by recognizing the World War I massacre of Armenians as \u2018tantamount to genocide.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Back then, it was clear that the controversy stemmed from the belief that pro-Israel groups shouldn\u2019t discuss the genocide because it could affect the Israel-Turkey relationship. What changed was the rise of the AKP in Turkey and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s hostility towards Israel. As a result, Israel was more willing to speak about the Armenian Genocide.<\/p>\n

Another issue was Azerbaijan-Israel relations. Azerbaijan has close ties with Israel and Turkey. However, Armenia has, historically, been on poor terms with Israel. As such, the issue of recognition was tied to foreign policy.<\/p>\n

This is most vexing; Turkey could simply accept the genocide and note that the Young Turks and Ottomans have nothing in common with modern Turkey. Modern Turkey was created by Mustafa Kemal Atat\u00fcrk in the 1920s. Today\u2019s AKP has roots in religious conservative politics and the Muslim Brotherhood. There is no reason for it to deny the genocide. It isn\u2019t linked to the parties that did it.<\/p>\n

The genocide doesn\u2019t reflect modern Turkey at all \u2013 it reflects the Ottomans and their actions. However, the AKP has often tapped into both Turkish and Ottoman history. As such, it may feel that the issue threatens them.<\/p>\n

Israelis have been pushing to recognize the Armenian Genocide for years. In 2016, Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein spoke at a special plenary debate marking the genocide.<\/p>\n

He stated: \u201cIt is no secret that [in Israel] as well, this event has been controversial, at least with regards to the publicity it should be given\u2026 We must differentiate between our current interests and the difficult past, which this dark chapter is a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThis is the correct and appropriate thing to do, seeing as we are part of the family of nations, and a nation whose values of morality and compassion towards every human being are paramount. Let us not remain indifferent, albeit a bit late, to the suffering the Armenians experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n

MK Zehava Galon, who had pushed for recognition for years and initiated the debate, said, \u201cFor years, [MKs] have been coming here, to the plenum, to ask that the genocide be called by its name. This year, after the agreement with Turkey has been signed, I know that granting this request has become particularly difficult.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was pressure from the Foreign Ministry<\/a> and from elements in the government \u2013 \u2018why are we suddenly raising this issue, with all the diplomatic sensitivity?\u2019 But, despite this, I am declaring that the Knesset must recognize the Armenian Genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt\u2019s never too late to do the right thing,\u201d Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar said as Israel moved to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[33],"tags":[51864,3248,29502,2238,470,7036,55197,55198,7889,5740,307,37,24438,24095,4028,49,44253,33207,55199,46247,2247,3186,1176],"class_list":["post-183334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-adolf-hitler","tag-armenia","tag-armenian-genocide","tag-bulgaria","tag-christianity","tag-christians","tag-denial-of-the-armenian-genocide","tag-erdogan-turkey","tag-genocide","tag-gideon-saar","tag-greece","tag-israel","tag-israel-turkey","tag-israel-turkey-relations","tag-knesset","tag-middle-east","tag-nazi","tag-nazis","tag-nazism","tag-ottoman","tag-romania","tag-serbia","tag-turkey"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116834831263024107","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}