Recognition of Armenian Genocide Could Threaten Israel–Turkey Ties
The Foreign Ministry warned that Israel’s possible recognition of the Armenian genocide, which was discussed in a Knesset committee on Monday, could lead to the serious deterioration of Israel’s ties with Turkey.
A Knesset committee discussed on Monday the possibility of setting a memorial day for the Armenian genocide by the Turkish people nearly 100 years ago, marking a first in Israeli history.
Several MKs expressed support for the move, saying that Israel, as a nation of the Jewish people who have experienced genocide, cannot ignore genocides in other countries.
However, the recognition of the Armenian genocide has long been a sensitive diplomatic issue due to the implications it has on Israel’s relationship with Turkey, which denies it.
“This subject, given the current atmosphere, could deteriorate our ties with Turkey,” A Foreign Ministry representative said during the discussion. “Our relationship with Turkey is very fragile and sensitive right now, and we cannot cross the line – we must approach the subject intelligently. Such a decision could have very serious strategic consequences.”
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Why the Antisemitism Awareness Act now has a religious liberty clause to protect ‘Jews killed Jesus’ statements
- 2
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 3
News School Israel trip turns ‘terrifying’ for LA students attacked by Israeli teens
- 4
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Ireland’s prime minister gave condolences for Hitler’s death — here’s why that’s a contemporary problem
-
Fast Forward The fires in Israel are under control — but debate is raging over their cause
-
Fast Forward Argentina declassifies more than 1,800 files on Nazi escape via ‘rat-lines’ to South America
-
Fast Forward Betar USA founder banned from World Zionist Congress over feud with Israeli firebrand Shai Davidai
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.