In a landmark decision, Israel’s cabinet unanimously approved a resolution formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide, marking a significant shift in Israeli policy and setting the stage for a final vote in the Knesset.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who introduced the proposal, announced the cabinet’s decision immediately after the vote, saying, “Just a short while ago, the Government of Israel approved the resolution I brought before it to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
The measure will now be brought before the Knesset plenum, where lawmakers will cast the final parliamentary vote.
Sa’ar said the decision reflects Israel’s moral responsibility as the Jewish state to acknowledge one of history’s greatest atrocities. “This horrific genocide, which took place more than a century ago and whose historical facts are no longer seriously disputed, claimed the lives of 1.5 million people and destroyed an ancient cultural and historical heritage,” he said. “As Jews, and especially as the nation-state of the Jewish people, I believe it is our moral duty to make this decision.”
The cabinet resolution also denounces any effort to deny, minimize, or distort the historical record of the genocide. With the vote, Israel joins 32 United Nations member states—including the United States, Canada, Russia, and Germany—that have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. The European Parliament and the Holy See have likewise extended formal recognition.
For decades, Turkey has rejected characterizing the mass killings, deportations, and imprisonment of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire as genocide, despite extensive historical evidence. Critics have accused Ankara of maintaining an “institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization” that includes the “manipulative rewriting of history books.”
The move, however, is expected to carry diplomatic consequences. Israel’s recognition of the genocide could complicate its close relationship with Azerbaijan, an important strategic ally that has received Israeli military support during its conflicts with Armenia. The decision is also widely expected to provoke a sharp response from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.