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ISRAELI PRESIDENT BACKTRACKS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION
December 5, 2014 - 13:18 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - 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.
According to The Times of Israel, those responsible for the petition
were surprised by Rivlin's change of stance, Israel's Channel 10 News
reported on Thursday, Dec 4 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.
The 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be commemorated
on April 24, 2015.
Beit Hanassi, the president's official residence, confirmed that
Rivlin had not signed the petition, Channel 10 said. It said unnamed
Foreign Ministry officials welcomed the president's "statesmanship."
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."
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.
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/185649/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/rivlin-backtracks-on-armenian-genocide-recognition/
December 5, 2014 - 13:18 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - 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.
According to The Times of Israel, those responsible for the petition
were surprised by Rivlin's change of stance, Israel's Channel 10 News
reported on Thursday, Dec 4 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.
The 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be commemorated
on April 24, 2015.
Beit Hanassi, the president's official residence, confirmed that
Rivlin had not signed the petition, Channel 10 said. It said unnamed
Foreign Ministry officials welcomed the president's "statesmanship."
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."
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.
http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/185649/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/rivlin-backtracks-on-armenian-genocide-recognition/