The Israeli government officially recognized the genocide carried out by Ottoman Turkish forces against Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks, according to a report. The move, a historic shift in Israeli policy, follows Turkish President Erdogan's latest remarks branding Zionism an existential threat.
The Israeli government has formally recognized the genocide perpetrated by Ottoman Turkish forces against Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks — a historic step that ends decades of diplomatic caution toward Ankara, according to a report this afternoon.
For years, successive Israeli governments refrained from such recognition in order to preserve strategic ties with Turkey. Sunday's move signals that Jerusalem considers the value of that restraint exhausted, coming as it does on the heels of President Erdogan's declaration that Zionism is an existential threat.
As The Zioneer reported earlier today (Sunday, 13:14 Jerusalem), the Israeli cabinet had already unanimously recognized the Armenian Genocide. The current report confirms the decision extends to Assyrians and Greeks as well, and frames it explicitly as part of an official government policy shift.
The development is the latest and sharpest turn in a rapid deterioration of Israeli-Turkish relations. Over the past month, Erdogan has escalated anti-Israel rhetoric — calling Israel a 'factory of conflicts', comparing its leadership to Hitler, and most recently labeling Zionism a genocidal, expansionist ideology threatening Turkey's survival. Israel responded last week with sharp diplomatic rebukes, and Prime Minister Netanyahu called Erdogan an 'antisemitic dictator'.
It remains unclear whether additional concrete measures against Turkey will follow, or whether the recognition is framed as a declarative policy change that concludes Israel's response for now.
3 developments
- StrongFM Sa'ar to bring Armenian Genocide recognition proposal to Sunday cabinet meeting
- DevelopingFM Sa'ar: Armenian Genocide recognition not retaliation, but truth
- Developing301 analyst: Sa'ar's Armenian Genocide recognition marks broader campaign against Turkey
- DevelopingErdogan accuses Israel of 'genocide' in Gaza hours after Israeli recognition of Armenian genocide
Source and signal
- Internal intake