For Israeli recognition of the Turkish genocide of the Armenians, apparently, Turkey has to be even more anti-Israel than it already is. In reaction to Turkish President Erdogan calling Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu a terrorist and Israel a terrorist state, Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called Erdogan an anti-Semite and stated on Army Radio, “It’s possible Israel should have acted against Turkey in the international arena and recognized the Armenian genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire.” and Israel should “present the values held by the Turks around the world, including recognition of the slaughter of the Armenians.”
While this sounds encouraging for Armenians who have long sought recognition and reparations for that genocide, one should ask, if Turkey wasn’t as anti-Israel as it has been heading for over a decade would Minister Gilad Erdan make such a declaration now? No, because it has not been the interest of Israel to recognize that genocide, the prototype of the Holocaust.
For Minister Gilad Erdan, the extermination of two-thirds of Armenians is a sword that Israel hangs over the head of the Turkish Republic. Apparently, genocide is not bad enough in its own right but is just another diplomatic tool. Where was Minister Erdan only a few years ago when Israeli jets flew military training missions over Armenian property stolen by the Turkish state? I ask Minister Erdan to end Israel’s duplicitous policy, visit the Armenian Genocide Monument in Yerevan, and make his declaration in front of the eternal flame.
If Minister Gilad Erdan and the rest of the Israeli Knesset is genuinely interested in serving the long-term interest of the Jewish state, let them demand Turkey pay reparations and the return of land to what they left of Armenia.
The recognition of near death of entire people is not a bargaining chip.
