Turkey disapproves of ADL’s statement recognizing Armenian massacre as
genocide
By: Israel Insider staff
August 23, 2007
The Turkish government expressed its disapproval of the Anti
Defamation League’s new position that the Armenian massacre by the
Turks "was tantamount to genocide," a radical change in the
organization’s policy. The Turkish ambassador to Israel cut short his
vacation to officially issues Turkey’s concern over the statement, the
Jerusalem Post reported.
"We see this statement as an unfortunate one that is unjust to the
Holocaust, which has no precedent, and to its victims. And we expect it to
be corrected," an official statement from the Turkish government read.
Health Minister Ya’acov Ben-Yizri, speaking on behalf of Foreign Minister
Tzipi Livni, said at the time: "As Jews and Israelis we have special
sympathy and a moral obligation to commemorate the massacres that were
perpetrated against the Armenians in the last years of Ottoman rule. The
State of Israel never denied these terrible acts. On the contrary, we
understand fully the intense emotional feelings aroused by this, taking into
consideration the number of victims, and the suffering of the Armenian
people."
Source: .htm