Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced today (Tuesday) in the Knesset plenum that the government’s decision to recognize the Armenian genocide will be brought next week for a vote in the Knesset plenum, after it was unanimously approved in a cabinet meeting.
In his remarks in the plenum, Sa’ar presented the government’s decision and noted that it is a move of moral and historical importance. According to him, “We, as Jews and as the state of the Jewish people, are obligated to take this step."
Sa’ar said the government decided to recognize the genocide of the Armenian people that took place in the final years of the Ottoman Empire. He stated, “We are speaking about a horrific genocide that occurred more than a century ago, of about one and a half million people."
He added, “The decision we made in the government constitutes Israel’s formal recognition of the genocide committed against the Armenian people. It is never too late to do the right thing."
He further said that due to the importance of the issue, the government decided to bring the recognition before the Knesset for approval as well: “Given the importance of the recognition, the government requested to present the announcement to the Knesset, in order to later bring it to a vote in the Knesset plenum."
The plenum vote is expected to take place next week and will constitute the next stage in Israel’s formal recognition process of the Armenian genocide.