Israel’s Foreign Minister to seek official recognition of Armenian Genocide

(Horizon Media / JERUSALEM) — Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is expected to bring forward a cabinet resolution on Sunday calling for the State of Israel to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, his office announced.

The proposed resolution would mark a major shift in Israel’s long-standing position on the issue. For decades, successive Israeli governments avoided formal recognition of the genocide, largely because of the diplomatic implications for relations with Turkey, which continues to deny that the Ottoman Empire’s mass killings, deportations and persecution of Armenians constituted genocide.

The Armenian Genocide, carried out during the final years of the Ottoman Empire, resulted in the deaths of 1.5 million innocent Armenians. Armenian communities around the world have long called on governments to recognize the crime as genocide and to reject Turkey’s ongoing denial campaign.

According to the explanatory text accompanying Sa’ar’s proposal, the Armenian Genocide remains subject to “an organized campaign of denial and minimization,” including efforts, primarily by Turkey, to rewrite historical accounts and distort the facts.

“In light of this moral and historical obligation,” the proposal states, the Government of Israel should formally recognize the genocide committed against the Armenian people during the last years of Ottoman rule. It also calls on Israel to condemn attempts to deny, minimize or distort the historical truth of the genocide.

The move comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Israel and Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. While Israel has historically refrained from official recognition because of Turkish sensitivities, the worsening bilateral relationship has opened the door to renewed political momentum on the issue.

Last August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly stated for the first time that he recognized the Armenian Genocide. Sa’ar’s initiative would now seek to translate that position into an official government decision.