Israeli Government Backs Recognition of Armenian Genocide

The Israeli government today unanimously approved a proposal to recognize the Ottoman Empire’s violence against Armenians during World War I as genocide, the Associated Press reported. The move, which still needs parliamentary approval, reflects the deteriorating relations between Israel and Turkey, the agency noted. Ankara has actively lobbied for years against international recognition of the mass killings of Armenians around 1915.

The Israeli government made a historic decision by unanimously backing the proposal for the official recognition of the Armenian genocide. The news was announced by Israel’s Foreign Ministry and comes amid continuing tensions in relations between Israel and Turkey. According to the official statement, the cabinet supported the proposal submitted by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

For years, Israel avoided officially raising the issue so as not to worsen relations with Ankara, but ties have become strained over the past two decades, especially in recent years, against the backdrop of the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Turks around World War I, an event widely described in academic circles as the first genocide of the 20th century. The issue of the Armenian genocide remains one of the most sensitive topics in Turkish foreign policy.

Despite extensive and unequivocal historical documentation, the Armenian genocide remains to this day the subject of an institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization, including through the manipulative rewriting of history, mainly by the Turkish government, said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who submitted the proposal to the government.

This is a historic decision, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said, emphasizing the significance of the government’s unanimous support. It is never too late to do the right thing, Sa’ar wrote on X, describing the decision as a moral and historical duty.

The next step is for the proposal to be submitted for consideration by the Knesset, where it must receive final approval in order to take effect. The decision carries not only historical but also serious diplomatic significance. It comes at a time when relations between Israel and Turkey are deeply strained over a number of regional and political issues.

In recent years, Ankara and Tel Aviv have repeatedly exchanged sharp accusations, while their differences over the conflict in the Middle East have further deepened tensions between the two countries.