Armenian orphans being deported from Ottoman-controlled territory (1920)
The Israeli Cabinet unanimously approved a resolution to officially recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide. The step was brought forward by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and is viewed as a historic diplomatic shift.
Perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey's forerunner), the campaign began in April 1915 and involved systematic killings, mass deportations, and deliberate starvation. Approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed.
The historical facts are widely accepted by the global community, though the Turkish government fiercely denies that the deaths constituted genocide. Turkey is governed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power since 2003.
Senior Israeli government officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, have explicitly characterized Erdoğan as a Muslim Brotherhood operative and the leader of a regional "Muslim Brotherhood axis".
Israel was founded in 1948. Successive Israeli governments avoided formal recognition for decades to preserve strategic military and trade ties with Turkey. The recent unanimous cabinet vote stems from a severe breakdown in bilateral relations.
Following the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has consistently and fiercely condemned Israel's military campaign, repeatedly labeling it a "genocide". He has actively suspended trade with Israel and formally sought to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In retaliation and to deliver a stark geopolitical blow, Israel set aside its longstanding taboo to formally embrace the historical truth, with Foreign Minister Sa'ar citing it as a "moral and historical duty". A terrible genocide did indeed occur in Armenia, and Herdogan is the first to know it.
Israel strongly rejects the use of the term "genocide" to describe its actions in Gaza. It maintains that its war is strictly an act of self-defense targeted at the militant group Hamas, which initiated the conflict on October 7, 2023. In addition, it is Hamas's founding charter and strategy that seek the destruction of Israel, and therefore, if the term "genocide" is applicable, it should be directed at the actions and stated goals of Hamas rather than Israel's defensive operations.
Israel argues that its goal is to destroy the militant infrastructure and free hostages, not to destroy the Palestinian people, which is the legal definition of genocide. Fatalities and suffering—while tragic—are an inevitable, devastating reality of urban warfare, particularly when a militant group embeds itself within civilian areas. The high civilian death toll does not in itself constitute evidence of the "genocidal intent" legally required under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
