ISRAELI GOVERNMENT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OWING TO POLITICAL REASONS
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.05.2006 16:00 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The people and society of Israel recognize the
Armenian Genocide . However, the question is not raised at the
level of the Government, Executive Director of the Institute on
the Holocaust and Genocide, Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of
Genocide, Psychology Professor Israel Charny stated in a conversation
with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, at the state level
only former Minister of Culture of Israel Yossi Sarid recognized the
Armenian Genocide.
“There are three people in our state, who openly speak of the Armenian
Genocide in Ottoman Turkey. These are Professor Yair Auron, Yossi Sarid
and I. All others keep silent due to political considerations. Israel
is in an Islamic circle and most importantly it depends on Turkey in
water supplies. Proceeding from this the Israeli Government is silent
on the events in 1915.
Though Israeli chief rabbi Yona Metzger visited Tsitsernakaberd
Memorial in Yerevan and in fact recognized the tragedy in 1915 as
a genocide, which is a good precedent. The chief rabbi has much
influence, but he does not represent the Israeli Government,” Charny
underscored.
The Israeli scholar also remarked that for a crime committed it
is not important when it was committed and against whom. “Genocide
is a genocide: whether it is 1915, Holocaust, annihilation of Gypsy
population in Hitler Germany, Darfur, Rwanda. I always ask: why people
recognize Holocaust and keep silent on the Armenian Genocide?” he said.
As of addressing the International Criminal Tribunal, Charny believes
“it is a game.” In his opinion, only Europe is able to make Turkey
recognize the Genocide.
“If Turks really want accession to the EU, they should recognize the
Armenian Genocide. This is one of compulsory conditions,” Executive
Director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide underscored.