Israel's Netanyahu recognises Armenian genocide in a historic first

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recognised the alleged genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians during World War I, in a first for the country.

During a podcast interview with Armenian-born presenter Patrick Bet-David, Netanyahu said, "I think we did. I think the Knesset passed a resolution to that effect," although no such legislation has been passed by Israel's parliament.

When asked why no Israeli prime minister has ever recognised the mass killings, Netanyahu replied: "I just did. Here you go."

Armenia has sought international recognition of the systemic killings which left an estimated 1.5 million people dead as a genocide.

Turkey, on the other hand, has steadfastly rejected allegations that the mass killings and forced deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians amounted to genocide.

Shifting stances

Israel, one of Turkey's key trading partners, has long grappled with the issue and been hesitant to describe the atrocities in the early 20th century as genocide.

In 2001, then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres categorically denied what he described as "Armenian claims".

He added that Israel rejected "attempts to create a similarity between the Holocaust and the Armenian allegations."

However, in 2000, then-Education Minister Yossi Sarid of the left-wing Meretz party announced plans to include the Armenian genocide in Israel's history curriculum. Eleven years later, a member of the far-right National Union party introduced a bill to declare 24 April an official day of commemoration for the massacre.

Despite the Knesset holding its first-ever debate on recognising the genocide, and the majority appearing to be in favour, the issue was ultimately not put to a vote.

Former Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who was known to be an advocate for recognition, refrained during his presidency from taking any official step, including renewing his signature on an annual petition calling for recognition.

In 2018, a Knesset vote on recognising the Armenian Genocide was cancelled due to a lack of sufficient support from the ruling coalition.

Turkey's position

Although Turkey has yet to comment on Netanyahu's remarks, Ankara has long denied the massacre amounts to genocide under internationally recognised law.

In an official review published by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country referred to the last years of the Ottoman Empire as a "tragic period for its people. Turks, Armenians and others suffered terribly."

The review said the "memory of all those lives lost must be duly honoured," but argued the Armenian view of history "cherry-picks Armenian suffering, summarises it in multiple ways, and portrays it as genocide."

Turkey has alleged that "many more Turks died or were killed in the years leading up to and during the war" and argued that there is no conclusive evidence to support the claim of a "deliberate plan by the Ottoman government to exterminate Armenians."

Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement in April reiterating its call to support normalisation with Yerevan and categorically rejecting any characterisation of the events of 1915 that "distort historical facts and international law."

Despite Turkey's refusal to heed Armenia's goal of recognising the massacre as genocide, several rounds of talks have been held with the goal of normalising relations between the two countries.

In December 2021, Turkey appointed Serdar Kılıç, its former ambassador to Washington, as its special representative for normalisation talks with Armenia. Ruben Rubinian was appointed by Armenia as his counterpart.

In mid-March, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference in Yerevan that the normalisation of relations between his country and Turkey had become "a matter of time".

Global recognition

The issue of recognising the genocide remains controversial, with Uruguay being the first country to recognise the killings as the Armenian genocide in April 1995.

To date, only 34 governments around the world recognise the Armenian genocide.

The US did not offer formal recognition until former President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

At the time, the move prompted Turkey to summon the US ambassador in Ankara to denounce the shift.

In the Arab world, only Syria and Lebanon — two countries with hundreds of thousands of citizens of Armenian origin — recognise the genocide.

In Europe, most countries have recognised the genocide, with the exception of Spain and the United Kingdom.