{"id":535825,"date":"2026-07-11T05:06:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T05:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/535825\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T05:06:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T05:06:16","slug":"armenias-jews-hope-israeli-recognition-of-ottoman-genocide-will-jumpstart-bilateral-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/535825\/","title":{"rendered":"Armenia\u2019s Jews hope Israeli recognition of Ottoman genocide will jumpstart bilateral ties"},"content":{"rendered":"

YEREVAN, Armenia (JTA) \u2014 Last Friday night, 13 mostly Russian-speaking Jews and three Arab Muslims gathered under a cherry tree next to the popular Common Grounds coffee shop in Yerevan \u2014 capital of the world\u2019s oldest Christian country \u2014 to welcome Shabbat.<\/p>\n

Samson Karapetyan \u2014 the son of an Armenian Christian father and a Jewish mother from Azerbaijan \u2014 recited the Hebrew blessing for wine over a glass of Georgian Palavani kosher merlot. Karapetyan, 29, stood at the head of a table piled high with hummus, falafel, pita, stuffed grape leaves, babaganoush and other Middle Eastern delicacies supplied by a local Lebanese caterer.<\/p>\n

Then everyone, including the three invited Arabs, joined in a spirited rendition of \u201cLecha Dodi\u201d \u2014 with printed transliterations in English for those not familiar with the traditional Jewish melody.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so glad we have a community here,\u201d said Ekaterina Goldschmidt, 32, a tattooed landscape architect who showed up to the Shabbat dinner with Teya, her little black Kokoni dog.<\/p>\n

The dinner was organized by Yerevan Jewish Home<\/a>, a social network formed by Russian-born journalist and blogger Nathaniel Trubkin in the wake of Vladimir Putin\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. That ongoing war spurred a large exodus from both countries and brought as many as 2,000 Jews to Armenia \u2014 boosting the ex-Soviet republic\u2019s tiny Jewish population tenfold and injecting new blood into what had been a stagnant, dwindling community of mostly pensioners.<\/p>\n

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The explosion of Jewish life came against the backdrop of frosty ties between Armenia and Israel, the country that absorbed the most Ukrainian and Russian Jewish emigres since the war\u2019s start. The chill has been a consequence of Armenia\u2019s close relations with neighboring Iran as well as Israel\u2019s unwillingness to offend Turkey by naming as a genocide the Ottoman massacre of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tSamson Karapetyan, 29, recites the Kiddush, or Hebrew blessing for wine, at a July 3, 2026, Shabbat dinner in Yerevan, Armenia. (Larry Luxner\/ JTA)<\/p>\n

Another key obstacle has been resentment over Israel\u2019s extensive weapons sales to neighboring Azerbaijan, with which Armenia has fought several border wars in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.<\/p>\n

Those obstacles may be falling away. Last year in Washington, predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan and mostly Christian Armenia signed a peace treaty at the urging of US President Donald Trump \u2014 garnering praise from Jewish leaders in both countries.<\/p>\n

And on June 29, Israel\u2019s Cabinet unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the 1915 genocide. That declaration now goes to the full Knesset where, despite intense lobbying from both Turkey and Azerbaijan, it will likely be ratified \u2014 making Israel the 36th country to take that step.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Jewish community here is happy that Israel has finally recognized this genocide,\u201d Trubkin told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. \u201cEvery self-respecting Jew knows what happened to the Armenians, though of course many Armenians are asking, \u2018Why only now?\u2019 It\u2019s all about politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tFrom left: Tatiana Kliuchnikova, Julia Kislev and Nataniel Trubkin at Yerevan\u2019s Mama Jan Caf\u00e9. Kliuchnikova and Trubkin are among an estimated 1,000 Russian Jews who have settled in Armenia since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago. (Larry Luxner\/ JTA)<\/p>\n

Added Karapetyan: \u201cEveryone understands that our two nations have a similar heritage, with a similar destiny. It is impossible, when you speak about the Shoah, to not also speak about the Armenian genocide. If we study one of them, we need to study the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Turkey and its ally, Azerbaijan, immediately condemned the Cabinet vote; the chief rabbi of Azerbaijan\u2019s Ashkenazi congregation in Baku, Shneur Segal, has already urged Israel to reverse it immediately.<\/p>\n

The reaction from Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was cold. Suggesting that Israel is motivated purely by geopolitics, he told reporters<\/a> the day the change was announced: \u201cWe believe that not entering into the issue of the weaponization of the Armenian genocide is in the interests of the Republic of Armenia. Therefore, we do not see any need for a response.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other external factors appear to be drawing Yerevan and Jerusalem closer together.<\/p>\n

Late last month, some 350 women representing the Israeli labor federation Histadrut gathered at Yerevan\u2019s Megerian Carpet Restaurant to mark International Day of Women in Diplomacy. The event featured popular songs in Hebrew by prominent Georgian vocalist Kristi Japaridze as well as a performance of traditional Armenian music and dance.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tGeorgian vocalist Kristi Japaridze sings Hatikva, Israel\u2019s national anthem, at a June 30 ceremony in Yerevan for members of an Israeli labor union delegation visiting Armenia. (Courtesy of Lifestyle Productions via JTA)<\/p>\n

The Histadrut visit \u2014 the largest such Israeli delegation to tour Armenia in years \u2014 was organized with help from Israeli House, an NGO based in Jerusalem. Founded in 2012 by former Jewish Agency official Itsik Moshe, the network promotes Israeli culture and business, and now operates in 30 countries including both Azerbaijan and Turkey.<\/p>\n

Moshe, who is also president of the Israel-Georgia Chamber of Business, said Israeli House will open its next outpost in Armenia sometime in August or September.<\/p>\n

Assisting Moshe is Andranik Arakelyan, an educational consultant at Yerevan\u2019s National Polytechnic University, though a specific location has yet to be decided. In its final form, he suggested, Israeli House could include a business center to showcase Israeli tourism as well as innovations in agriculture and medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider Israeli House as a cultural first step for strengthening ties between our two nations. The rest is up to politicians and diplomats,\u201d said Arakelyan, 36, a Christian who spent four years in Glendale, California, a predominantly Armenian suburb of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tArmenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan speaks to reporters on June 29, 2026. (Screen capture\/YouTube)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best time for our countries to get closer,\u201d Arakelyan said, while acknowledging that \u201ca small minority\u201d of Armenians hold antisemitic views. \u201cMany parties here question the timing of this [genocide] recognition, calling it a political maneuver. But when the draft becomes a resolution in the Knesset, Armenians will see that it wasn\u2019t fake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marina Kozliner, a community activist who has long campaigned for this recognition, said reactions among the 10,000 or so Armenian Jews and Christians living in Israel have been mixed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn one hand, there is real happiness. Our community has waited for this for decades,\u201d said Kozliner, the daughter of a Jewish father and an Armenian atheist mother who is based in Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv. \u201cOn the other, many people feel it came at the wrong political moment. Because of that, something that should have been a moral decision has become a political tool, and that has taken away part of the joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cStill, I prefer to look ahead. Armenia is making real efforts to move toward peace and to normalize relations with its neighbors, including Azerbaijan. That gives many of us hope for a more stable future in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, the same day Trubkin and his friends were celebrating their Shabbat dinner in Yerevan, Narek Mkrtchyan, Armenia\u2019s ambassador to the United States, received prominent pro-Israel philanthropist and Trump supporter Miriam Adelson in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had an interesting and substantive conversation regarding the Armenia-US agenda, investment opportunities in Armenia, and the country\u2019s rich historical and cultural heritage,\u201d Mkrtchyan posted on Facebook<\/a>, adding, \u201cMrs. Adelson expressed great interest in considering a visit to Armenia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tArmenian ambassador to the US Narek Mkrtchyan welcomes Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance as they arrive in Yerevan, Armenia, February 9, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n

Eric Hacopian, a political analyst who made his career advising Democratic candidates in southern California, suggested that such a meeting \u201ccould not have happened a few months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when it comes to Armenian-Israeli relations, he said, it\u2019s important to take a long-term view of the genocide declaration from Jerusalem..<\/p>\n

\u201cI think something like this five to 10 years ago would have meant a lot more. It means a lot less now,\u201d he said. \u201cOne reason is that [Prime Minister Pashinyan] is particularly anti-nationalist and more focused on normalization of ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan, so they won\u2019t engage directly with Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

He predicted a long-term shift. \u201cI\u2019m very confident that over the next 10 or 15 years, we\u2019re going to see a switcheroo, in which Israel will have much better relations with Armenia, and more problematic relations with Azerbaijan,\u201d Hacopian said. \u201cI see relations improving, mostly because Turkish-Israeli relations are going downhill, and Israel\u2019s relations with Azerbaijan are entirely transactional \u2014 oil for weapons and access to Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if and when the Islamist regime in Iran collapses, Azerbaijan\u2019s strategic importance to Israel declines as well, and Armenia\u2019s increases. For one thing, Hacopian noted, Armenia\u2019s economy is booming. In 2018, per-capita GDP was around $4,500; this year, it\u2019ll likely surpass $10,000 \u2014 helped along by the presence of information technology giants including AMD, Synopsis and Invidia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one \u2018X factor\u2019 no one notices is that the IT business is booming. Israeli IT firms are already here, and data centers are being built,\u201d he said. \u201cYou cannot be in the IT business in this region if you don\u2019t have relations with Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jewish life is taking root in Armenia, thanks largely to the efforts of Trubkin and his friends in the Yerevan Jewish Home network.<\/p>\n

Goldschmidt, the tattooed landscape artist with the dog, was born and raised in Saratov \u2014 a major city southeast of Moscow. She left Russia in 2023, about a year after it attacked Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen everything started, I shared my opinions and told everyone what I thought. Eventually, I had to leave; otherwise I\u2019d have ended up in jail,\u201d said the young woman, who moved to Berlin and then spent four years in Limassol and Nicosia with her Cypriot ex-boyfriend. She\u2019s now been in Armenia for the past six months \u2014 where she proudly wears a Star of David necklace \u2014 and wants to open an art gallery here.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tEkaterina Goldschmidt, a Jewish landscape architect from the Russian city of Saratov, attends a Shabbat dinner in Yerevan with her Kokoni dog, Teya, July 3, 2026. (Larry Luxner\/ JTA)<\/p>\n

Karapetyan, who recently spent a semester at the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden, sees a future for liberal Judaism among the newcomers to Armenia.<\/p>\n

\u201cJews here cannot relate to the Orthodox way of life. They like their freedom, and they\u2019re not used to having separate seating for men and women,\u201d he said. Karapetyan said that he has discussed joint projects with Rabbi Gershon Burshteyn, who has led Yerevan\u2019s only synagogue \u2014 the Mordechay Navi Jewish Religious Center of Armenia \u2014 since 1996.<\/p>\n

Trubkin says his Telegram chat has around 600 people.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery week, I meet several new people asking about Jewish life in Armenia \u2014 people from Russia, from Israel, from Moldova. For some of them, it\u2019s their second round of emigration,\u201d he said, adding that he\u2019s looking to establish a physical presence for Yerevan Jewish Home. \u201cAnd we\u2019re also establishing a new Armenian-Israeli organization for business and culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sense of optimism is palpable, even with an undercurrent of concern about the influence that Turkey plays in the region. But if Israel fails \u2014 for whatever reason \u2014 to formally recognize the Armenian genocide after raising expectations, all bets are off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sincerely hope that the Israeli government will complete this process and that the Knesset will adopt an official resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide,\u201d said former Knesset member Alexander Tsinker, co-chair of the Armenia-Israel Public Forum. \u201cOtherwise, it would be, to put it mildly, unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"YEREVAN, Armenia (JTA) \u2014 Last Friday night, 13 mostly Russian-speaking Jews and three Arab Muslims gathered under a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[93763,233798,244235,85,46,244236,244237,43],"class_list":["post-535825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-armenia","tag-armenian-genocide","tag-armenian-jews","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-israel-armenia-relations","tag-jews-in-the-former-soviet-union","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}