By Harut Sassounian
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Diverse reactions have followed the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Israel’s Cabinet of Ministers on June 28, 2026.
Here are some basic facts to clarify the confusion:
After decades of denial and evasion, the Israeli government finally issued a statement recognizing the Armenian Genocide. The prolonged delay was shameful and immoral, particularly for a people who were themselves victims of genocide. To make matters worse, the Israeli government colluded with Turkey’s denialist policies for years by urging major Jewish-American organizations to block U.S. congressional attempts to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
It is obvious why Israel did not recognize the Genocide before and why it is recognizing it now. It has nothing to do with the facts of the Armenian Genocide. Countries base their policy decisions on their national interests, not emotional or moral considerations. Condemning Israel for recognizing the Armenian Genocide overlooks that important political reality. Israel did not recognize the Armenian Genocide until it believed that doing so aligned with its interests, just as the more than 30 other countries that have recognized it.
The next misunderstanding comes from Armenians who ask, “What has the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by foreign countries given us?” It is unrealistic to expect that the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by any country will force Turkey to acknowledge it, pay restitution for Armenian losses, and return Western Armenia!
Genocide recognition is a symbolic act with several more realistic benefits:
1. It continually reminds the world that the horrible crime of Genocide was committed against the Armenian nation. More than a century later, it continues to haunt Turkish denialists. Wherever Turkish leaders go around the world, they are confronted with the mass murders of their ancestors.
2. It brings a degree of satisfaction to the descendants of the victims by affirming that their tragedy has not been forgotten. Denial adds insult to injury.
3. It answers Hitler’s notorious question: “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” Hitler’s erroneous belief was one of the reasons that encouraged him to plan the Holocaust.
4. By not forgetting the Genocide, Armenians will keep alive the hope that someday, in the distant future, when geopolitical circumstances change in the region, Armenians may have the chance to reclaim their losses.
5. Each time a country recognizes the Armenian Genocide, thousands of news reports appear in the international media publicizing Turkey’s mass crimes. The Turkish government has wasted billions of dollars over the years trying to bury the issue, to no avail.
6. Regardless of what motivated Israel or any other country to recognize the Armenian Genocide, Armenians should only consider their own interests.
7. It is in Armenia’s strategic interest to take advantage of the growing diplomatic rift between Turkey, Israel, and Azerbaijan. A possible indication of such a rift is the departure of Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Israel back to Baku last week.
Let us now turn to those who have reacted to Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide with dismissal or outright denial.
Turkey: After 111 years of denial, the Turkish government continues to waste its time and resources denying the undeniable. The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued an evasive statement in response to Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide. It accused Israel of committing atrocities in Gaza, which do not absolve the Turkish government of its own mass murders of millions of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks. Furthermore, Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated an obvious lie: “In our thousands of years of history, there is no genocide, no massacre, no oppression, and no colonialism.” The Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey have been in existence far less than 1,000 years, during which they have committed massacres, oppression, colonialism, and multiple genocides.
Pres. Erdogan is also falsely claiming to be the defender of the Palestinian people. For decades, Turkey enjoyed a strong military alliance with Israel, sold billions of dollars’ worth of goods to it, and allowed the transshipment of massive amounts of Azeri oil to Israel, helping fuel the war in Gaza, which has resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Azerbaijan: Even though Azerbaijan has committed its own mass crimes against Armenians, it is now making itself complicit in the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by participating in its denial. Azerbaijan is also no friend of the Palestinians. It pays Israel billions of dollars to purchase weapons and is Israel’s largest oil supplier.
The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan issued a statement last week expressing “serious concern” about Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide, urging the Israeli government to reconsider the decision. The most ridiculous part of Baku’s statement is: “Azerbaijan remains firmly committed to upholding historical truth, respecting the principles of international law, and promoting lasting peace and stability in the region.”
It is shameful that Rabbi Shneur Segal, Chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish Community of Azerbaijan, wrote a letter asking the Knesset not to recognize the Armenian Genocide. How can a man of God reject the truth and oppose its recognition? It is obvious that Azerbaijan’s government is pressuring its local Jewish community to carry out pro-Azeri and pro-Turkish propaganda.
Northern Cyprus: A Mickey Mouse “republic”, recognized only by its occupying power, Turkey, has no standing to make a statement on any subject. Its baseless denial of the Armenian Genocide is motivated solely by its desire to please its masters in Ankara.
Nikol Pashinyan: Regrettably, the Prime Minister of Armenia has lost all credibility when it comes to expressing an opinion on the Armenian Genocide. In recent years, he has made insulting comments on this subject by raising doubts about the veracity of the Armenian Genocide. When asked to comment on Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide, he shamefully said: “We see no need to respond, because we believe that refraining from becoming entangled in the issue of the weaponization of the Armenian Genocide is in the interests of the Republic of Armenia.” It is utterly disappointing that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia is trying to appease its archenemies, Azerbaijan and Turkey, by refraining from properly addressing Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
It remains to be seen whether and when Israel’s Knesset will take up the issue of recognizing the Armenian Genocide and convert the Cabinet’s decision into formal state recognition through legislation.
