TEL AVIV (Realist English). The Israeli cabinet unanimously approved a resolution on June 28 officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
The document, submitted by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, describes the recognition as a “moral and historical duty” and provides for the condemnation of any attempts to deny, downplay or distort the historical truth about these events.
The resolution will be put to a vote in the Knesset.
“Never Too Late to Do the Right Thing”
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who announced the submission of the resolution on June 25, said after the vote: “It is never too late to do the right thing.”
Earlier he had stressed: “Recognition of the genocide committed against the Armenian people in the final years of the Ottoman Empire is both a moral and historical duty. We must resolutely condemn any denial, downplaying or distortion of historical truth.”
The explanatory memorandum to the draft notes that, despite extensive and unequivocal historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains to this day the object of an institutionalised campaign of denial and downplaying of its scale, primarily on the part of Turkey.
Historical Background
The explanatory memorandum to the resolution recalls that the Armenian Genocide began in April 1915 with arrests, deportations and murders of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, public figures and leaders in Constantinople.
After the elimination of the community’s leadership, the Ottoman authorities proceeded to systematically destroy the Armenian population: men were mobilised for forced labour and killed, while women, children and the elderly were driven from their homes and sent on “death marches” towards the Syrian Desert. As a result, about 1.5 million people perished.
The Path to Recognition: Decades of Diplomatic Sensitivity
Israel long avoided official recognition of the genocide due to the diplomatic sensitivity of the issue. In the past, the Israeli Foreign Ministry assessed that recognition by the Israeli government would most likely lead to the expulsion of embassy staff from Ankara and the recall of the Turkish ambassador from Israel. Similar bills were submitted to the Knesset three times — in 2018, 2019 and 2021 — but all were rejected due to government resistance.
In August 2025, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time publicly recognised the Armenian Genocide in an interview with an American podcaster. “Actually, I think we did recognise it. I just did it,” Netanyahu said at the time. However, that statement did not become the official position of the government.
Geopolitical Context: Deterioration of Relations with Turkey
The Israeli government’s decision comes against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in relations with Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Erdoğan has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, which pushed Jerusalem to take reciprocal steps toward recognition.
On the eve of the vote, the Israeli Foreign Ministry sharply condemned Erdoğan after he accused “Zionism” of threatening Turkey’s survival, calling the Turkish president a “dictator” who persecutes opponents and supports jihadist groups.
Turkey’s Reaction and International Context
Turkey, which traditionally rejects the term “genocide” in relation to the events of 1915 and disputes the figure of 1.5 million victims, has not yet officially responded to the Israeli government’s decision. Ankara is expected to take diplomatic or economic measures against Israel.
To date, 32 UN member states, including the United States, Canada, Russia and Germany, as well as the Vatican and the European Parliament, have officially recognised the Armenian Genocide. According to JNS, with Israel added, the number of recognising states reaches 35.
The Israeli cabinet’s decision is a historic breakthrough, putting an end to decades of diplomatic restraint. However, its consequences for Israel’s relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as for the geopolitical balance in the region, remain to be assessed.
Now the Knesset must give its final approval to the resolution.
