Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day is marked annually on April 24. Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I. Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying that the toll has been “inflated” and that those killed were victims of “civil war and political unrest.”  For years, Israel has refrained from commenting on the matter for fear of angering a close and pro-imperialist allied: Turkey.

Turkey has consistently denied responsibility for the genocide, which is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Holocaust. Various events devoted to the subject, which were supposed to be held at the Knesset, were cancelled in recent years because of Turkish pressure. A discussion on Armenian Genocide was held on Tuesday in the Knesset to mark the 98-year anniversary of the events. “It is time that Israel recognizes the genocide of the Armenian people, as did 27 other countries,” said MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) during the discussion. “How many of us really know much about the Armenian genocide? Why do we accept Turkey’s refusal to take responsibility for the heinous crimes?” he added.

MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud), a former Knesset speaker, said “Turkey is and will be an ally of Israel. The talks with Turkey are understandable and even necessary from a strategic and diplomatic perspective. But those circumstances cannot justify the Knesset ignoring the tragedy of another people.”  MK Zehava Gal-On (Meretz) referred to the reconciliation talks with Turkey as “an important and strategic process that I whole heartedly support, but it needn’t influence recognition of the massacre of the Armenian people. It’s not that we have to either recognize the genocide or have relations with Turkey; we can do both. The link between the two harms Israel and its foreign relations.” In the end, the MKs decided that the Knesset House Committee would choose which committee would conduct a broader debate on the issue.

The members of the Armenian Cause Committee participated in the plenary session of the Knesset to discuss the issue of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Reported to “Armenpress” by the Head of the Armenian Cause Committee, Georgette Avagyan.