Israel moves to recognize Armenian Genocide amid Turkey rift

Israel’s cabinet unanimously approved a proposal on June 28, 2026 to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, a move that still needed final approval from the Knesset and landed as relations with Turkey continued to fray. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the step a “moral and historical obligation” and said it was “never too late to do the right thing.”

The proposal says the genocide began on April 24, 1915, with the arrest, deportation and murder of Armenian clergy, leaders and intellectuals in Constantinople, before the Ottoman Empire carried out what Israel described as a systematic elimination of the Armenian population. The resolution would mark Israel’s first official state recognition after years of avoiding the term in order to preserve diplomatic relations with Turkey, which rejects the characterization of the wartime killings as genocide.

The timing underscored how far Israel and Turkey have drifted apart since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and the Gaza war. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has compared Israel’s actions in Gaza to Nazi Germany and sharply curtailed ties.

Armenians have pressed for decades for international recognition of the mass killing and deportation campaign carried out by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The death toll is estimated at about 1.5 million Armenians, while the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has estimated between 664,000 and 1.2 million deaths. Israel would join 32 UN member states, along with the Holy See and the European Parliament, that had recognized the genocide by 2026.

The Knesset’s Education, Culture and Sports Committee recognized the Armenian Genocide in 2016, but a planned Knesset vote in 2018 was removed amid government opposition tied to relations with Turkey. In Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, community members have repeatedly pushed for formal recognition.