Foreign Minister to Seek Israeli Recognition of the Armenian Genocide

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar is expected to bring a proposal to the government at its next meeting calling for Israel’s formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Sa'ar said the move reflects a moral and historical duty to acknowledge the atrocities committed against the Armenian people in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, and to oppose any attempt to deny or distort the historical record.

According to the explanation attached to the proposal, the genocide began in April 1915 with the arrest and killing of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and leaders in Constantinople. The Ottoman authorities then launched a systematic campaign against the Armenian population, including conscripting men for forced labor and then killing them, while women, children, and elderly people were sent on death marches into the Syrian desert.

Sa'ar said those events led to the deaths of about 1.5 million people and the destruction of an ancient cultural heritage. He added that, despite extensive historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains the target of an institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization, mainly by Turkey. The proposal says any effort to falsify the historical truth about these events should be condemned.

So far, 32 countries have recognized the Armenian Genocide. After government approval, the decision is also expected to be brought before the Knesset.