Yesterday the Knesset of Israel gave it's first go-ahead for the discussions aiming at recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Expressing his view on the matter the Speaker of the Israeli Parliament Reuven Rivlin said while acknowledging the Armenian genocide is not a provocation against Turkey, "it is not appropriate for the Knesset to ignore this," Today's Zaman reports.
The bill to recognize the Armenian genocide by Israel, a nation that itself has suffered a genocide, has never come this far in the country's parliament. Twelve parliamentarians voted in favor and eight against the proposal.
The Knesset now will debate the proposal that there has been a genocide committed by Ottoman Turks against the Armenian population in 1915-1921 on a House Committee level. The committee will decide what to do and where to send the proposal.
What's Next For The Armenian Genocide Recognition in Israel
Now, Knesset's House committee will send the genocide debate proposal either to the Education Committee or to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The chairman of the Meretz party, who brought the proposal forward wants it to go to the Education Committee. The government of Israel wants the proposal to go to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which generally holds its hearings behind closed doors.
Israeli Knesset in September of 2009 had declined to discuss the Armenian Genocide recognition debate. However, getting this proposal this far is a very significant development.
The Significance of Knesset's Decision on Armenian Genocide Proposal
Turkey does not accept that its ancestors committed on of the worst massacres of the 20th century: namely the Armenian Genocide, killing 1.5 million people. While more than 20 countries, including France, Russia, Poland, Argentina and 44 U.S. States have recognized that those events amounted to a genocide of nearly and entire nation, Turkey has spend a lot of money and effort to ensure the U.S. Congress does not pass a resolution of recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Pro-Jewish lobby in Washington had helped Turkey's efforts and assisted very much.
However, now as Israel has come so close to recognition of the Armenian genocide, Turkey stands alone against the U.S. Congress. There is a good chance Speker Pelosi will bring the issue up before the mid-term elections in November.
Due to Israel's policies in Gaza and Palestine Turkish-Israeli relations had suffered a major setback. Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the undersecretary of Turkey's Foreign Ministry, who recently made two shuttle diplomacy trips to the capital of Armenia, Yerevan and the capital of Azerbaijan Baku, will now travel to Israel to discuss bilateral ties. Certainly the issue of the recognition of Armenian Genocide will be on the agenda.
People also read:
* Turkish Newspaper on Armenian Genocide: We Made A Terrible Mistake
* Grandson of Armenian Genocide Leader Calls for Turks to Mourn
* Turkish Diplomat: US May Recognize Armenian Genocide in October
Written by Armen Hareyan
HULIQ.com
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