BY GIL HOFFMAN
From the Jerusalem Post
JERUSALEM—Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said Tuesday that Israel has an obligation to remember the murder of more than a million Armenians at the hands of the Turks more than a hundred years ago, but warned that the issue should not be turned into an attack on the Turkish government of today. The Knesset speaker made the comments at a Knesset discussion of the Armenian genocide.
Speaking a day before State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss was scheduled to release a report on Israel’s interception of Turkish ships bound for the Gaza Strip which led to a diplomatic crisis between the countries, Rivlin insisted that the discussion of the Armenian genocide was not politically motivated.
“We have an ethical obligation to remember that a million Armenians were killed. It is forbidden to make the issue political. Our charges are not pointed at the Turkish regime today. We must make our voices heard when other nations are targeted for destruction,” Rivlin stated.
“Those who drafted the Final Solution for the Jews figured the world would be silent as they were when the Armenians were murdered. The Knesset cannot ignore this episode that is factual. We cannot forgive nations who ignore our disaster and we cannot ignore the disasters of others,” the Knesset speaker added.
Meretz chairwoman Zehava Gal-On, who initiated the Knesset discussion, accused the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of using the Armenian tragedy to attack Turkey.
Gal-On stated the government should “finally recognize” the episode as a genocide and restore relations with Turkey by agreeing to apologize for the deaths of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists at the hands of IDF commandos during the May 2010 raid of the Mavi Marmara vessel, which was part of a flotilla attempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
“The Armenian genocide is not an opportunity for public diplomacy,” Gal-On told the Knesset plenum, adding that “Israel is strong enough to apologize for the killing of Turkish citizens without it harming Israel’s honor or its security. We don’t need to choose between recognizing genocide and relations with Turkey. We can have both.”
The Meretz leader stated that “the Jewish people who have experienced the worst Holocaust have an obligation to show sensitivity to the disasters of others.”
National Union [party Knesset Member] Arieh Eldad called on Turkey to recognize its responsibility for its “historical crime,” which he said included children being “put into cellars and gassed.” Eldad quoted Adolf Hitler as having said “who remembers what happened to the Armenians,” when he was asked what the world would say about his Fianl Solution against the Jews.
Kadiam [party Knesset Member] Robert Tibayev was the only lawmaker to speak against Israel recognizing the Armenian genocide, saying that Israel should not interfere in the issue, but rather let historians, or an international body decide if there was a genocide.
Balad [party Knesset Member] Saed Nafaa, a Christian, took the opportunity to accuse current Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being hypocritical by complaining about the atrocities being committed by Syrian President Bashar Assad against his people while he himself has killed dozens of Kurds.
A whole lot of BS!!!!!!!!!
Israel brings up our Genocide everytime Turkey goes against Israeli policies. In the end, nothing happens. This man Rivlin is blowing alot of stinky hot air nothing more. Israel will not recognize the Armenian Genocide. They think that their holocaust is unique. I also believe that this rift between Israel and Turkey to only be at the surface. Turkey needed an excuse to “distance” itself from Israel to get the trust of the Arabs in order to advance its own agenda in the Middle East. If Erdogan was serious about helping the Palestinians, he would have done so by now. The Palestinians are not any better off since Erdogan started barking at Israel. People shouldn’t believe everything that they read. Most of the media is controlled anyway ;).
Shame on Israel for using our Genocide as a political tool against Turkey.
They also use their own Holocaust as a political tool but we know that already. Read the Holocaust Industry by Norman G. Finkelstein.
Good post Ani, I agree with your assessment.
Ani, what you said makes plenty of sense.
I agree with Ani
Ani, who cares if the genocide issue is being used as a political tool or not. What you say about Israel-Turkey relationship is true for one important reason, they are NATO allies, they cannot be enemies even if they wanted to, the US won’t permit it. On the other hand not to see that Turkey is asserting itself more and more as a regional power is to be blind to that fact. Turkish anti-Israel posturing is not a show. If (a big if) it started as such in the pst, now it is not true anymore.
Turkish anti-Israel policies serve two purposes: 1) To demonstrate that Turkey is a master of her own destiny, 2) (a more important aspect) AKP is milking Turkish population’s anti-Jewish sentiments for their party’s own gains.
The Turkish population is genuinely against the American-led attacks on “Muslim” peoples of the Middle-East, they see Israel as a component of that policy, the AKP is tapping into those sentiments. Even if what you say started as a game of wink-wink and huff and puff between Ankara and Jerusalem, today this game has taken a life of its own. Now the Turks truly believe that they are superior and can force their policies on Israel. The lie, if it ever was, has turned into truth for the Ottomanist leadership of Turkey.
Israel is profoundly perturbed by this, therefore, Israel bringing up the Armenian genocide issue is a fundamental change of policy to hit Turkey where it hurts. This cannot be brushed aside as a simple game. To do so is to be too naive.
As far as I’m concerned, anybody and everybody can bring up the genocide issue as they please, because they do that following their national interests. If that interest coincides with ours, then more power to it.
Good analysis Zareh.
Right on Ani. This is all BS. There is no rift between Turkey and Israel. The Israelis, US and their allies including Turkey are playing another big and dirty game. They are using the Armenian issue together with a generous financial aid package from Clinton etc..to win Armenia on their side away from Russia and Iran while the Israelis are helping the Azeri military and establishing grounds for their attack on Iran.
Armenians must realize that the security and existance of Armenia comes from the security of Russia.
Therefore Armenia must continue to forge strong ties with Russia and stay away from Israel and NATO because all they care about is their Imperialistic agenda and nobody else!
Recognize the Genocide! Go Israel Go!
A whole lot of BS!!!!!!!!!
Israel brings up our Genocide everytime Turkey goes against Israeli policies. In the end, nothing happens. This man Rivlin is blowing alot of stinky hot air nothing more. Israel will not recognize the Armenian Genocide. They think that their holocaust is unique. I also believe that this rift between Israel and Turkey to only be at the surface. Turkey needed an excuse to “distance” itself from Israel to get the trust of the Arabs in order to advance its own agenda in the Middle East. If Erdogan was serious about helping the Palestinians, he would have done so by now. The Palestinians are not any better off since Erdogan started barking at Israel. People shouldn’t believe everything that they read. Most of the media is controlled anyway .
Shame on Israel for using our Genocide as a political tool against Turkey.
They also use their own Holocaust as a political tool but we know that already. Read the Holocaust Industry by Norman G. Finkelstein.
Rivlin thinks – “the issue shouldn’t be turned into an attack on the Turkish government”…and why not may I ask?…as if the culprits of the Turkish government’s denialist policies to whitewash the Armenian Holocaust and withhold reparations over the last 97 years were a result of some unknown entity! The Turkish government should be held accountable by the worlds more responsible governments and if Israel can’t live up to these moral standards then it risks tarnishing its own history.
Israel has already proven that it is not a nation of honesty, integrity, or dignity. If they were who they claim they are, they would have been the first nation on Earth to recognize the Armenian Holocaust. Whatever they do from now on, although 50 years too late, they will be slow to gain the trust of the Armenian communities, because the damage they have caused us in way of denial and undermining of our tragedy is already extensive. This is not to say that many honorable Jews have helped our cause. The problem is their community has more evil than good.
Unlike the Jews, Armenians are not the heads of Medical and Law boards and Universities and the news media. Thus they have played us like a fiddle any way they saw fit to supposedly “help their cause”. All the while they present to the world pseudo-historians like Bernard Lewis to deny the Armenian Genocide and double agent vile politicians like the likes of Albright, Kissinger etc who are more interested in Israel than the US but have convinced the dupes of America otherwise.
If they were sincere, it would have recognized it long ago. No sense in recognizing it now. Besides, who cares if they or anyone else recognizes it at this point. As the Armenian saying goes, “Yerusaghem beede chi hasts’enen”
100% for what Ani said!! This drift between Turkey and Israel is artificial. Jews will never recognize our genocide and as I said they want to stay unique with their Holocaust industry. They are taking us for idiots.
They take everyone for idiots. What do you expect from the self-proclaimed “chosen ones”?
Israel is trying to claim that it is trying to recognize the Armenian genocide so that it does not appear anti-Armenian because of it’s massive weapons sales to Azerbajian and Turkey. In reality, Israel is anti-Armenian especially since the Armenians control a part of Jerusalem which the Jewish fanatics want. We should sell the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem to Israel in exchange for Israeli weapons and cancellation of the Azeri arms deal. The Armenian Quarter has gotten us nothing and our priority should be protecting Armenia and the NKR. Who cares about the Armenian quarter. We need to rid outselves of this stupid and foolish pride of having the Armenian quarter and being the first Christian nation.
Therefore, a Jewish says thit about.
I dont think that there will be very much movement on the issue of Armenian genocide until after the Israeli elections in 1 year. The Kinneset will discuss this issue this year but to make an official statement to acknowledge it would mean that the Israeli government isolates the ourself from Turkey (the only Muslim country that is not in a state of war and very was in a state of war with Israel) But today most Israeli people do not like Turkey anyway. We all know the truth about what they did. But also the US is pressuring Israel about trying to repair relations with Turkey. The entire issue has more to do with US Israel relations than anything. Also the Kurds helped in the Armenian genocide and at the moment the Kurds are helping Israel with spies in Iran. So I think there will be no movement on the Armenian issue until after these other political issues are settled.
The rift between Turkey and Israel is real. Israel accepting our genocide will open the door for all of Europe and potentially USA to acknowledge it. Timing is everything – we can thank the stars for this eclipse and appreciate it.
Good points Ani and Garen….
“We have an ethical obligation to remember that a million Armenians were killed. It is forbidden to make the issue political. Our charges are not pointed at the Turkish regime today. We must make our voices heard when other nations are targeted for destruction,”
Recognizing so called genocide is political. Stop destructing Palestine. Israel actively committing genocide by destroying the nation.
I agree with Ani….. However I rather have that extra vote. Lets wake up… the so called free world is not free every country has its adgenda… and uses it for its national/political interest and not our/your interest. The only way to tackle is Armenia to become a strong, smart and Rich. That could take a while… Armenians keep up the good work.
We hope the Israeli Knesset will not back down on the recognition of the well documented Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 whereby the Armenian Nation lost up to 2 million Armenians & another 1 million were either moslemized or fled to other lands for saftey. We say shame on Israel for its delay on this 1st Genocide in the last century. If for any reason, as of this year they do not recognize our Genocide, then Armenians must consider Israel as Anti-Armenian & Anti-Christian.