The Israeli government voted on Sunday to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide, following a resolution proposal put forth by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar late last week.
“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” said Sa’ar following the vote.
The proposal is now slated to be brought before the Knesset plenum for a vote.
“Recognizing the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people in the final years of the Ottoman Empire is both a moral and historical duty,” Sa’ar said in a Thursday post to X/Twitter, announcing the resolution. “We must also firmly condemn any denial, minimization, or distortion of the historical truth.”
The Foreign Ministry added in its own statement that despite being extensively documented, the genocide has been subjected to an “institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization,” spearheaded primarily by Turkey.
I will bring before the Israeli government at its next meeting a proposed resolution for the official recognition by the Government of Israel of the Armenian Genocide.
Recognizing the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people in the final years of the Ottoman Empire is…
— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 25, 2026
Some 32 UN members formally recognize Armenian Genocide
Turkey denies that the massacres, imprisonment, and forced deportation of Armenians amounted to genocide, and Israel long avoided recognizing it as such due to diplomatic sensitivities.
As of 2026, 32 UN member states, including the United States, Canada, Russia, and Germany, have formally recognized the genocide.
The Holy See and the European Parliament have also officially recognized the genocide.
