Tweet
IN ISRAEL, BOTH COALITION AND OPPOSITION URGE REMEMBRANCE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Ha'aretz, Israel
April 23 2013
Knesset members speak out despite the government's efforts to achieve
a detente with Turkey.
By Jonathan Lis | Apr.23, 2013 | 8:17 PM
Both coalition and opposition members Tuesday commemorated the
Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks, despite Israel's efforts to
patch things up with Turkey over the raid on the Gaza flotilla three
years ago in which eight Turkish nationals died.
During and after World War I, between 1 million and 1.5 million
Armenians died; the anniversary of the killings is marked this week.
Because of Jerusalem's past close relations with Ankara, the government
has never officially recognized the events as genocide.
"How many of us are really familiar with the Armenian holocaust? Why
are we indifferent when Turkey does not take responsibility?" said
MK Ayelet Shaked (Habayit Hayehudi). "We must confront our silence
and that of the world in the face of such horrors. No country stood
by the Armenians. No one cared about the genocide in Rwanda."
MK Israel Hasson (Kadima) called on his colleagues to support
the Armenian people. "We've formed an Israeli-Armenian friendship
association, and I call on any MKs who want to express solidarity
to join it, even if the government has difficulty formulating a
statement."
MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud), a former Knesset speaker, said "Turkey is and
will be an ally of Israel. The talks with Turkey are understandable
and even necessary from a strategic and diplomatic perspective. But
those circumstances cannot justify the Knesset ignoring the tragedy
of another people."
MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) referred to the reconciliation talks with
Turkey as "an important and strategic process that I wholeheartedly
support, but it needn't influence recognition of the massacre of
the Armenian people. It's not that we have to either recognize the
genocide or have relations with Turkey; we can do both. The link
between the two harms Israel and its foreign relations."
Ofir Akunis, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said
that "as Jews and Israelis we have a moral obligation to remember
human tragedies. One of them was the massacre of the Armenian people.
The State of Israel has never denied these terrible events."
According to Akunis, "Investigating the related events must be done
through open debate, not by political declarations."
In the end, the MKs decided that the Knesset House Committee would
choose which committee would conduct a broader debate on the issue.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/in-israel-both-coalition-and-opposition-urge-remembrance-of-armenian-genocide.premium-1.517200
From: A. Papazian
Ha'aretz, Israel
April 23 2013
Knesset members speak out despite the government's efforts to achieve
a detente with Turkey.
By Jonathan Lis | Apr.23, 2013 | 8:17 PM
Both coalition and opposition members Tuesday commemorated the
Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks, despite Israel's efforts to
patch things up with Turkey over the raid on the Gaza flotilla three
years ago in which eight Turkish nationals died.
During and after World War I, between 1 million and 1.5 million
Armenians died; the anniversary of the killings is marked this week.
Because of Jerusalem's past close relations with Ankara, the government
has never officially recognized the events as genocide.
"How many of us are really familiar with the Armenian holocaust? Why
are we indifferent when Turkey does not take responsibility?" said
MK Ayelet Shaked (Habayit Hayehudi). "We must confront our silence
and that of the world in the face of such horrors. No country stood
by the Armenians. No one cared about the genocide in Rwanda."
MK Israel Hasson (Kadima) called on his colleagues to support
the Armenian people. "We've formed an Israeli-Armenian friendship
association, and I call on any MKs who want to express solidarity
to join it, even if the government has difficulty formulating a
statement."
MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud), a former Knesset speaker, said "Turkey is and
will be an ally of Israel. The talks with Turkey are understandable
and even necessary from a strategic and diplomatic perspective. But
those circumstances cannot justify the Knesset ignoring the tragedy
of another people."
MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) referred to the reconciliation talks with
Turkey as "an important and strategic process that I wholeheartedly
support, but it needn't influence recognition of the massacre of
the Armenian people. It's not that we have to either recognize the
genocide or have relations with Turkey; we can do both. The link
between the two harms Israel and its foreign relations."
Ofir Akunis, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said
that "as Jews and Israelis we have a moral obligation to remember
human tragedies. One of them was the massacre of the Armenian people.
The State of Israel has never denied these terrible events."
According to Akunis, "Investigating the related events must be done
through open debate, not by political declarations."
In the end, the MKs decided that the Knesset House Committee would
choose which committee would conduct a broader debate on the issue.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/in-israel-both-coalition-and-opposition-urge-remembrance-of-armenian-genocide.premium-1.517200
From: A. Papazian