Israeli Knesset sends Genocide motion to education committee

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Israeli parliament on Tuesday, July 5 agreed to include a motion on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide on the agenda, and the discussion will thus be moved to the Knesset Education Committee, The Jerusalem Post reports.

Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein and other MKs called for the government to recognize the Armenian Genocide, despite recently signing an agreement improving relations with Turkey.

“We cannot ignore, dwarf or deny this terrible genocide,” Edelstein stated. “We must disconnect current interests of this time and place from the difficult past.”

Edelstein quoted Nobel Prize-winning author, philosopher and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who died on Saturday, as saying apathy to suffering helps the enemy.

“We cannot remain apathetic, even if it’s late, to the suffering the Armenians experienced,” said Edelstein. “Recognizing the Armenian genocide is important to us as human beings who carry the moral responsibility, and constantly hope to improve the world and society.”

Meretz chairwoman Zehava Gal- On, who initiated the discussion, also quoted Wiesel, in an open letter his foundation published in 2007 calling for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Gal-On said that despite the agreement with Turkey, Israel must recognize the Genocide.

“This is a decision Israel must make,” she stated. “Sometimes there is a price to doing the right thing, and sometimes the right choice is not the easy one. We are tested when we have to pay a price.”

The MKs present approved Gal- On’s motion to the agenda, and the discussion will be moved to the Knesset Education Committee.

Meanwhile outside the Knesset, more than 50 people rallied for the same cause. Protesters lined the gate separating the Wohl Rose Park of Jerusalem from the Knesset holding placards reading “Recognize the Armenian Genocide,” and “Fight to stop the Turkish Denial Machine.”