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ISRAELI PRESIDENT BECOMES ANOTHER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIER
13:30, 5 December, 2014
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The Israeli President Reuven Rivlin,
formerly an outspoken advocate of Israel's recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, decided not to renew his signature on an annual petition
calling for Israel to officially recognize the mass killings as
genocide. As reports "Armenpress" citing The Times of Israel,
the Israeli President's administration has officially confirmed
the information.
Those responsible for the petition were surprised by Rivlin's change
of stance, Israel's Channel 10 News reported on Thursday night,
which was ascribed to the heightened sensitivity of his position
since Rivlin was elected president earlier this year. The TV report
said Rivlin was apparently concerned not to further harm Israel's
strained relations with Turkey.
Ties have been all-but frozen in recent years, notably as a
consequence of the 2010 killings of nine Turkish citizens by Israeli
naval commandos who were attacked when they intercepted the Turkish
vessel Mavi Marmara as it sought to break Israel's security blockade
of Hamas-run Gaza.
Israel has avoided formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide in the
political arena for years, for fear of straining diplomatic ties with
Turkey, which was Israel's closest ally in the Muslim world until
the deterioration under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an
open supporter of Hamas who has issued a stream of highly critical
statements about Israel.
In years past, Rivlin on numerous occasions encouraged Israeli
lawmakers to reject the politicized discourse that has dominated the
discussion of the issue. "I'm aware of the sensitivity, but I'm not
blaming modern-day Turkey," Rivlin told Knesset members last year,
when he was still an MK himself. "The government that committed
these acts was overturned by Turkey itself," he said during a special
session on the topic.
"I'm sure Turkey will be an ally. I think a solution needs to be
found for this crisis, but it's unthinkable that the Knesset ignore
this tragedy," Rivlin said. "We demand that people don't deny the
Holocaust, and we can't ignore the tragedy of another nation," he said.
During an interview with Israel Army Radio in 2013, Rivlin highlighted
the differences between the Holocaust and the murder of the Armenian
people. But without blurring those differences, Israel must find a
way to "fulfill its moral obligation of remembering wrongs done to
others," he said.
The fact of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman government has
been documented, recognized, and affirmed in the form of media
and eyewitness reports, laws, resolutions, and statements by many
states and international organizations. The complete catalogue
of all documents categorizing the 1915 wholesale massacre of the
Armenian population in Ottoman Empire as a premeditated and thoroughly
executed act of genocide, is extensive. Uruguay was the first country
to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965. The massacres
of the Armenian people were officially condemned and recognized as
genocide in accordance with the international law by France, Germany,
Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Poland,
Lithuania, Greece, Slovakia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Uruguay, Argentina,
Venezuela, Chile,Canada, Vatican and Australia.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/786663/israeli-president-becomes-another-armenian-genocide-denier.html
From: A. Papazian
13:30, 5 December, 2014
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The Israeli President Reuven Rivlin,
formerly an outspoken advocate of Israel's recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, decided not to renew his signature on an annual petition
calling for Israel to officially recognize the mass killings as
genocide. As reports "Armenpress" citing The Times of Israel,
the Israeli President's administration has officially confirmed
the information.
Those responsible for the petition were surprised by Rivlin's change
of stance, Israel's Channel 10 News reported on Thursday night,
which was ascribed to the heightened sensitivity of his position
since Rivlin was elected president earlier this year. The TV report
said Rivlin was apparently concerned not to further harm Israel's
strained relations with Turkey.
Ties have been all-but frozen in recent years, notably as a
consequence of the 2010 killings of nine Turkish citizens by Israeli
naval commandos who were attacked when they intercepted the Turkish
vessel Mavi Marmara as it sought to break Israel's security blockade
of Hamas-run Gaza.
Israel has avoided formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide in the
political arena for years, for fear of straining diplomatic ties with
Turkey, which was Israel's closest ally in the Muslim world until
the deterioration under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an
open supporter of Hamas who has issued a stream of highly critical
statements about Israel.
In years past, Rivlin on numerous occasions encouraged Israeli
lawmakers to reject the politicized discourse that has dominated the
discussion of the issue. "I'm aware of the sensitivity, but I'm not
blaming modern-day Turkey," Rivlin told Knesset members last year,
when he was still an MK himself. "The government that committed
these acts was overturned by Turkey itself," he said during a special
session on the topic.
"I'm sure Turkey will be an ally. I think a solution needs to be
found for this crisis, but it's unthinkable that the Knesset ignore
this tragedy," Rivlin said. "We demand that people don't deny the
Holocaust, and we can't ignore the tragedy of another nation," he said.
During an interview with Israel Army Radio in 2013, Rivlin highlighted
the differences between the Holocaust and the murder of the Armenian
people. But without blurring those differences, Israel must find a
way to "fulfill its moral obligation of remembering wrongs done to
others," he said.
The fact of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman government has
been documented, recognized, and affirmed in the form of media
and eyewitness reports, laws, resolutions, and statements by many
states and international organizations. The complete catalogue
of all documents categorizing the 1915 wholesale massacre of the
Armenian population in Ottoman Empire as a premeditated and thoroughly
executed act of genocide, is extensive. Uruguay was the first country
to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide in 1965. The massacres
of the Armenian people were officially condemned and recognized as
genocide in accordance with the international law by France, Germany,
Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Poland,
Lithuania, Greece, Slovakia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Uruguay, Argentina,
Venezuela, Chile,Canada, Vatican and Australia.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/786663/israeli-president-becomes-another-armenian-genocide-denier.html
From: A. Papazian