Israel Moves to Officially Recognize Armenian Genocide as Moral Duty

Israel FM Saar to seek official recognition of 'Armenian Genocide'; Cabinet to vote on Sunday

Tel Aviv, June 26

In a post on X, Saar said, "I will bring to the approval of the Israeli government at its next meeting a proposed resolution for the official recognition by the Government of Israel of the Armenian Genocide."

He added, "This is a moral and historical obligation to recognise the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people in the final days of the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, it is necessary to condemn denial, minimisation, or distortion of the historical truth."

According to the Times of Israel, Saar's office announced the proposal on Thursday (local time), with the cabinet expected to vote on it Sunday in a move that is likely to provoke Turkey.

The Times of Israel reported that Israel had previously "refrained from recognising the World War I atrocities" as "genocide" over concerns it could damage relations with Turkey. However, ties according to the Israeli news platform have deteriorated sharply since Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rose to power, following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, strike on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. The publication added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said for the first time last year that he recognised the 'Armenian Genocide'.

Quoting the explanatory text accompanying the proposal, the Times of Israel reported, "Despite extensive and unequivocal historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains the subject of an organised campaign of denial and minimisation, including the manipulative rewriting of history books, primarily by Turkey."

The proposal further states, "In light of this moral and historical obligation, it is proposed that the Government of Israel recognise the genocide committed against the Armenian people during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, given ongoing attempts to blur, minimise, or deny the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide, the proposal calls for condemning all efforts to distort the historical truth of these events."

According to the Times of Israel, the proposal will be brought before the Knesset after the cabinet vote. There was no immediate reaction from Turkey to Saar's announcement. The publication noted that in August 2025, Ankara said, "Netanyahu's remarks concerning the events of 1915 are an attempt to exploit past tragedies for political motives."

The news report said Armenians have long sought international recognition of the killings in the early 20th century, which reportedly left some 1.5 million of their people dead, as a genocide. Turkey -- the Ottoman Empire's successor state -- strongly rejects the allegation that the massacres, imprisonment and forced deportation of Armenians amounted to genocide.

— ANI