Benjamin Netanyahu says he recognises Armenian genocide
Benjamin Netanyahu says he recognises Armenian genocide
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he recognises the Armenian genocide in an interview with a right-wing broadcaster.
Speaking to Patrick Bet David, an American podcaster with Assyrian heritage, Netanyahu said that he accepted the Ottoman Empire's killing of more than 1.5 million Armenians, as well as hundreds of thousands of Assyrians and Greeks, during World War One as a genocide.
Bet David asked Netanyahu why, despite the criminalisation of Holocaust denial in many countries, Israel had yet to recognise the killings that wiped out most of Turkey's Christian population.
"In fact, I think we have. I think the Knesset passed a resolution to that effect," Netanyahu responded, possibly referring to MPs on the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee issuing a resolution that recognised the genocide in 2016.
The resolution was not adopted by the government, however, and has not been passed by the parliament.
Pushed by Bet David on whether he would recognise the genocide himself, Netanyahu responded: "I just did. Here you go."
Israel has long refused to recognise the 1915-1917 killings in what is now the Republic of Turkey, echoing a similar position by successive Turkish governments.
Turkey acknowledges that atrocities took place against Armenians during the war, but it says the killings were not a part of a systematic campaign and do not amount to genocide.
The governments and parliaments of 34 countries have recognised the genocide, including the United States, while many of Turkey's allies, such as the United Kingdom, Pakistan and Azerbaijan, have either refused to do so or openly denied a genocide took place.
Netanyahu, whose own assault on the Gaza Strip since October 2023 has been recognised as genocide by multiple rights groups, has increasingly come to blows with the Turkish government over the killing of more than 62,000 Palestinians.
'Netanyahu is lying'
Kegham Balian, a Jerusalem-based Armenian activist, wrote on X that Netanyahu's comments did not constitute recognition.
"'I just did. Here you go.' isn't an official recognition, it's a treat, and PBD gobbled it up instead of pushing for an actual statement," he said.
"Also, Netanyahu is lying: The Knesset has not passed a formal resolution recognising the Armenian Genocide."
Many of the 5,000-6,000 Armenian residents of Israel and occupied Palestine are themselves descendants of families that fled the genocide for Arab lands during World War One.
Israeli authorities have been in dispute with members of Jerusalem's Armenian community over a land deal signed between the Armenian Patriarchate and a private company owned by a Jewish Australian investor for the area known as the Cows’ Garden.
The deal could see the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem lose around 25 percent of its land and has provoked outcry from Armenian community leaders.
Since January 2023, the Jerusalem municipality has also demanded the equivalent of $5.7m in property taxes from the patriarchate on properties that had enjoyed historical exemptions.
On Wednesday, a group of Armenian organisations issued a statement condemning a "new" deal forged between the patriarchate and developers Xana Gardens Ltd.
"This so-called 'new deal' is even more dangerous than the first illegal contract. It was negotiated in secrecy, never shown to us in writing, and revealed only in fragments - along with demands for the community to withdraw its case. What we know confirms its illegitimacy and shows it to be even more alarming than the first," read the statement, issued by Save The Armenian Quarter and others.
"For the past two years, the Armenian community of Jerusalem has stood united in its struggle to nullify the illegal and treacherous land deal that sought to hand over the historical Armenian Gardens - Goverou Bardez (Cows' Garden) – for 98 years to Xana Gardens Ltd."
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