Armenians in Jerusalem and the dilemma of Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide
The Armenian presence in Jerusalem dates back to 301 AD, when Armenia adopted Christianity as its national religion, and Armenian monks and pilgrims subsequently settled there. Today, Jerusalem is home to a small Armenian community comprised of descendants of Armenians whose ancestors came to the Holy Land after 301 AD, and descendants of Armenians who survived the Ottoman genocide and immigrated to Palestine in large numbers between 1915 and 1923, before the establishment of the Jewish state.
On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Patrick Bet-David — an American media personality — on his podcast, that he recognizes the genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians during World War I. However, his response did not make it clear whether he was being serious or sarcastic, which is not befitting the Prime Minister, whose ancestors were subjected to the Holocaust at the hands of Nazi Germany during World War II.
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Netanyahu said that he recognizes the Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Genocides, but there has not been an official recognition given by either the Israeli cabinet or passed by the Israeli parliament to date, which would make this recognition legal.
We all know that Netanyahu uses the Armenian Genocide for opportunistic reasons, after his falling out with Erdogan over Hamas and Gaza back in 2009. If Netanyahu was serious, he would have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide and the other genocides perpetrated by Turkey through a cabinet and parliamentary resolution then.
The potential recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Israel will not be due to empathy (even though genocide is what both peoples have experienced and share), but simply due to the emnity and geopolitical rivalry between Israel and Turkey – to “score points” and to “p##s off” the other side.
The main reason why Israel still does not officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, is of course because of Azerbaijan. Since Azerbaijan and Israel have developed very close relations and have an unofficial alliance, with Azerbaijan constantly buying the most modern Israeli weapons and hardware (which it used to attack and conquer Artsakh, and to attack and occupy Armenia’s territory in 2021), and in turn selling its petroleum and natural gas to Israel (which accounts for 40% of Israel’s hydrocarbon imports), this symbiotic relationship and Azerbaijan’s “veto” of the potential recognition the Armenian Genocide by Israel, is set to continue.
Israel has strung Armenia along and perhaps it was the false hopes of empathy was a factor in Armenia not recognising Palestine for so long in addition to it’s dysfunctional policy of not doing so because no one recognised Arktash. It was ironic indeed with Israel being no friend yet Armenia in effect being pro Israel by declining to recognise Palestine indeed Azerbaijan and Georgia lost little time in recognising Palestine in 1992 months after being able to properly form their own foreign policy and it didn’t upset their relationship with Israel yet Armenia was full of absurd claims that it had more trade with Israel than Palestine and didn’t want to lose the chance ( who Armenia finally realised wasn’t going to happen) of Israel recognising the ottoman killings as a genocide. Seperatley in Europe sympathy for Israel over the holocaust is rapidly declining generational and demographic shift it’s destruction of Gaza means that by the centenary a very different sentiment will be the dogma. So whilst Turkey got away with it and Germany didn’t respectively and sadly Armenia seems willing to let bygones be bygones although it’s no longer living memory, Israel is running out of credit over it’s own genocide as liberal Jews have warned for years was going to happen .