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April 25 2013
Israel parliament discusses Armenian `genocide' case
Israel's parliament has held a special session on whether to recognize
the killings of Armenians as genocide, even as the government takes
new steps to repair relations with Turkey.
World Bulletin/News Desk
An Israeli parliamentary commission has been tasked with drafting a
law on the recognition of mass killings of Armenians at the hands of
the Ottomans in 1915 despite warming ties between Israel and Turkey.
The Haaretz daily reported on Tuesday that the Israeli parliament
commemorated the so-called Armenian genocide on Tuesday and that both
the ruling and opposition parties favor recognizing the tragedy as
genocide.
`How many of us are really familiar with the Armenian holocaust? Why
are we indifferent when Turkey does not take responsibility?' Ayelet
Shaked, a member of Israeli parliamentary body the Knesset said during
the session. `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,' Shaked added.
Meretz deputy Zehava Gal-On said during the session that the Knesset
should endorse recognizing the `Armenian genocide' despite efforts to
reconcile with Turkey. Deputies accepted a proposal to prepare a law
with respect to the killings of Armenians in 1915. One commission of
the Knesset was tasked with drafting the law.
The session on the `Armenian genocide' came a day after Israeli and
Turkish delegations tried to reach a deal on compensation to victims
of the Mavi Marmara incident.
Eight Turks and one Turkish American were killed and several other
pro-Palestinian activists were wounded when Israeli commandos stormed
the Mavi Marmara while stopping an international aid flotilla trying
to breach a blockade of the Gaza Strip. The incident increased
tensions between the once close allies and led to a break in
relations.
Last month, US President Barack Obama brokered a rapprochement between
the two countries, both of which Washington regards as strategic
partners in the turbulent Middle East. Israel offered an apology and
compensation for the May 31, 2010 raid, and the Turkish and Israeli
leaders agreed to try to normalize their relationship.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has since warned, however,
that the restoration of full-fledged diplomatic ties would come only
after compensation is paid to the surviving victims of the flotilla
raids and the relatives of the dead, and would be dependent on Israel
ending all commercial restrictions on the Palestinians.
However, while efforts to restore ties between the two former allies
have accelerated, the Israeli parliament began discussing the Armenian
`genocide,' a day before the so-called Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day.
"Members of Knesset will have to decide between the benefits of the
strategic relationship with Turkey and the moral duty not to ignore
the Armenian genocide that occurred in the last century," deputy
Reuven Rivlin, a former Knesset speaker, told a delegation from Turkey
at the Knesset on Monday, Haaretz reported.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments in several
countries, says about 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what is now
eastern Turkey during World War I in a deliberate policy of genocide
ordered by the Ottoman government. The Ottoman Empire dissolved after
the end of the war, but successive Turkish governments and the vast
majority of Turks take the charge of genocide as a direct insult to
national pride. Ankara argues there was a heavy loss of life on both
sides during fighting in the area.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=107420
April 25 2013
Israel parliament discusses Armenian `genocide' case
Israel's parliament has held a special session on whether to recognize
the killings of Armenians as genocide, even as the government takes
new steps to repair relations with Turkey.
World Bulletin/News Desk
An Israeli parliamentary commission has been tasked with drafting a
law on the recognition of mass killings of Armenians at the hands of
the Ottomans in 1915 despite warming ties between Israel and Turkey.
The Haaretz daily reported on Tuesday that the Israeli parliament
commemorated the so-called Armenian genocide on Tuesday and that both
the ruling and opposition parties favor recognizing the tragedy as
genocide.
`How many of us are really familiar with the Armenian holocaust? Why
are we indifferent when Turkey does not take responsibility?' Ayelet
Shaked, a member of Israeli parliamentary body the Knesset said during
the session. `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,' Shaked added.
Meretz deputy Zehava Gal-On said during the session that the Knesset
should endorse recognizing the `Armenian genocide' despite efforts to
reconcile with Turkey. Deputies accepted a proposal to prepare a law
with respect to the killings of Armenians in 1915. One commission of
the Knesset was tasked with drafting the law.
The session on the `Armenian genocide' came a day after Israeli and
Turkish delegations tried to reach a deal on compensation to victims
of the Mavi Marmara incident.
Eight Turks and one Turkish American were killed and several other
pro-Palestinian activists were wounded when Israeli commandos stormed
the Mavi Marmara while stopping an international aid flotilla trying
to breach a blockade of the Gaza Strip. The incident increased
tensions between the once close allies and led to a break in
relations.
Last month, US President Barack Obama brokered a rapprochement between
the two countries, both of which Washington regards as strategic
partners in the turbulent Middle East. Israel offered an apology and
compensation for the May 31, 2010 raid, and the Turkish and Israeli
leaders agreed to try to normalize their relationship.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an has since warned, however,
that the restoration of full-fledged diplomatic ties would come only
after compensation is paid to the surviving victims of the flotilla
raids and the relatives of the dead, and would be dependent on Israel
ending all commercial restrictions on the Palestinians.
However, while efforts to restore ties between the two former allies
have accelerated, the Israeli parliament began discussing the Armenian
`genocide,' a day before the so-called Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day.
"Members of Knesset will have to decide between the benefits of the
strategic relationship with Turkey and the moral duty not to ignore
the Armenian genocide that occurred in the last century," deputy
Reuven Rivlin, a former Knesset speaker, told a delegation from Turkey
at the Knesset on Monday, Haaretz reported.
Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments in several
countries, says about 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what is now
eastern Turkey during World War I in a deliberate policy of genocide
ordered by the Ottoman government. The Ottoman Empire dissolved after
the end of the war, but successive Turkish governments and the vast
majority of Turks take the charge of genocide as a direct insult to
national pride. Ankara argues there was a heavy loss of life on both
sides during fighting in the area.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=107420