In a landmark moment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly recognized the Armenian Genocide during WWI, ending decades of Israeli ambiguity tied to relations with Turkey.
For the first time in Israel’s history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially recognized the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
The historic acknowledgment came Tuesday during Netanyahu’s interview on the PBD Podcast with host Patrick Bet-David.
When pressed on why Israel had not joined other nations in formally recognizing the genocide of Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks, Netanyahu at first referred to the Knesset:
“In fact, I think we have, because I think the Knesset passed a resolution to that effect.”
Bet-David then asked if recognition had ever come directly from the Prime Minister himself. Netanyahu responded without hesitation:
“Yeah, I just did.”
For decades, Israel resisted formally recognizing the genocide, citing sensitive diplomatic ties with Turkey, the Ottoman Empire’s successor state. Ankara has consistently denied that the massacres, mass deportations, and starvation of Armenians between 1915 and 1917, which claimed an estimated 1.5 million lives, amounted to genocide.
Netanyahu’s declaration comes against the backdrop of rapidly deteriorating Israeli-Turkish relations. Since Hamas’s October 7 massacre, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has escalated attacks on Israel, branding it a “terror state” and accusing Netanyahu’s government of being the “greatest threat to Middle East security.”
The Knesset had been set to vote on recognizing the Armenian Genocide in recent years, but such motions were repeatedly blocked under government opposition. Now, Netanyahu’s public confirmation appears to signal a definitive shift in Israel’s stance.
For Armenia and its diaspora, Netanyahu’s words mark a long-awaited moment of recognition. For Turkey, it represents yet another rupture in an already fractured relationship with Jerusalem.
