{"id":515158,"date":"2026-06-28T13:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T13:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/515158\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T13:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T13:52:12","slug":"government-unanimously-recognizes-armenian-genocide-amid-frosty-ties-with-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/515158\/","title":{"rendered":"Government unanimously recognizes Armenian genocide, amid frosty ties with Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government voted Sunday to recognize the Armenian genocide in a move that was sure to antagonize Turkey, which accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza but fiercely denies the charge applies to the Ottoman Empire\u2019s wholesale killing of Armenians during World War I.<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar, who had announced last week that he would bring the recognition to a cabinet vote on Sunday, wrote on X after the bill passed unanimously that \u201cit\u2019s never too late to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

In a Hebrew-language video statement, he said: \u201cThis horrifying genocide, which took place over 100 years ago, and whose facts are not really up for debate, included the murder of 1.5 million people and the destruction of an ancient and historic cultural heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my view, it\u2019s our moral imperative as Jews \u2014 and certainly as the state of the Jewish nation \u2014 to make the decision that we made today,\u201d Sa\u2019ar said.<\/p>\n

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In a bid to avoid tension with Turkey, Israel had long refrained from using the word \u201cgenocide\u201d to refer to the campaign of massacres, imprisonment and forced deportation that the Ottoman Empire, Turkey\u2019s forerunner, committed against Armenians in the empire\u2019s final years.<\/p>\n

It’s never too late to do the right thing. <\/p>\n

I thank @IsraeliPM<\/a> Netanyahu for his support, and the government ministers for their unanimous approval of the resolution I initiated for Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide. <\/p>\n

Thus, Israel joins 32 countries that have\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/SHZ5v58U6G<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Gideon Sa’ar | \u05d2\u05d3\u05e2\u05d5\u05df \u05e1\u05e2\u05e8 (@gidonsaar) June 28, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War I, but contests the figures and has long denied that the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute a genocide.\n<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s already strained ties with Turkey tanked after the Hamas terror group invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the war in Gaza. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who supports Hamas, has compared Israel\u2019s actions to those of Nazi Germany, and all but cut his country\u2019s once-robust trade ties with Israel. Israel fiercely denies the charge of genocide in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Amid the rupture with Turkey, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said<\/a> for the first time in August 2025 that he recognizes the Armenian genocide. Ankara accused<\/a> him at the time of seeking \u201cto exploit past tragedies for political motives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked at a press conference Saturday night if he supports the Armenian genocide recognition bill, Netanyahu said: \u201cI certainly support it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netanyahu, who is Israel\u2019s longest-serving premier, said he had never tried to block recognition of the genocide, and declined to comment on whether there was concern about Turkey\u2019s reaction to the move.<\/p>\n

Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.<\/p>\n


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