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KNESSET TO DISCUSS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4166801,00.html
Attila Somfalvi Published: 12.26.11, 09:47 / Israel News
Amid dispute between France, Turkey over controversial chapter
in history, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin says 'as a nation that
experienced a holocaust, we cannot ignore this issue.' Foreign
Ministry: Topic fit for historians, not politicians
Amid heightened tensions between Turkey and France, after the latter
passed a bill criminalizing the denial of genocide in Armenia, the
Knesset's Education Committee on Monday will hold a session on the
controversial topic.
Three years ago the Foreign Ministry tried to thwart a hearing dealing
with the Armenian genocide, but this time officials in the ministry
presented a different view, claiming that the subject should be
determined "by historians, not politicians."
National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror asked Knesset Speaker Reuven
Rivlin to postpone the discussion, but Rivlin refused, saying: "As a
nation that has suffered through a holocaust, we cannot ignore this
issue, and therefore the hearing will be held as scheduled."
'Not a partisan issue' MK Zahava Gal-On, chairwoman of the Meretz
faction, said that "acknowledging the horrors that took place in the
past should not affect future relations with Turkey.
"(Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdgoan's statements are made
to create internal propaganda," the member of Knesset noted, adding
that the Turkey will find a way to preserve its diplomatic tieswith
Israel based on common interests.
Gal-On stated that the Knesset must take a clear position on the
Armenian genocide after long years of silence. "The moral duty to
recognize the Armenian genocide is not a partisan issue.
"As a daughter to the Jewish people, who underwent a holocaust that
has no precedent in human memory, we have the moral duty to show
sensitivity to the calamity of other nations," she said.
Relations between France and Turkey reached an all time low last week,
after French lawmakers voted to jail and fine anyone in France who
denies that the 1915 killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire
amounted to genocide.
In response, Ankara recalled its Ambassador from Paris and announced
a series of unprecedented measures, including a prohibition on
French fighter jets to land on its territory and cancellation of all
diplomatic meetings with French delegates.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4166801,00.html
Attila Somfalvi Published: 12.26.11, 09:47 / Israel News
Amid dispute between France, Turkey over controversial chapter
in history, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin says 'as a nation that
experienced a holocaust, we cannot ignore this issue.' Foreign
Ministry: Topic fit for historians, not politicians
Amid heightened tensions between Turkey and France, after the latter
passed a bill criminalizing the denial of genocide in Armenia, the
Knesset's Education Committee on Monday will hold a session on the
controversial topic.
Three years ago the Foreign Ministry tried to thwart a hearing dealing
with the Armenian genocide, but this time officials in the ministry
presented a different view, claiming that the subject should be
determined "by historians, not politicians."
National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror asked Knesset Speaker Reuven
Rivlin to postpone the discussion, but Rivlin refused, saying: "As a
nation that has suffered through a holocaust, we cannot ignore this
issue, and therefore the hearing will be held as scheduled."
'Not a partisan issue' MK Zahava Gal-On, chairwoman of the Meretz
faction, said that "acknowledging the horrors that took place in the
past should not affect future relations with Turkey.
"(Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdgoan's statements are made
to create internal propaganda," the member of Knesset noted, adding
that the Turkey will find a way to preserve its diplomatic tieswith
Israel based on common interests.
Gal-On stated that the Knesset must take a clear position on the
Armenian genocide after long years of silence. "The moral duty to
recognize the Armenian genocide is not a partisan issue.
"As a daughter to the Jewish people, who underwent a holocaust that
has no precedent in human memory, we have the moral duty to show
sensitivity to the calamity of other nations," she said.
Relations between France and Turkey reached an all time low last week,
after French lawmakers voted to jail and fine anyone in France who
denies that the 1915 killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire
amounted to genocide.
In response, Ankara recalled its Ambassador from Paris and announced
a series of unprecedented measures, including a prohibition on
French fighter jets to land on its territory and cancellation of all
diplomatic meetings with French delegates.