The Israeli government has until now refrained from recognizing the 1915-1917 mass killings as genocide, citing concerns over its diplomatic ties with Turkey.
Bt Akiva Van Koningsveld, JNS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for the first time publicly recognized the genocide carried out against the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks by Ottoman Turkey in the early 20th century.
Asked by conservative podcaster Patrick Bet David why Jerusalem has yet to recognize the Armenian genocide, Netanyahu said, “In fact, I think we have. I think the Knesset passed a resolution to that effect.”
On Aug. 1, 2016, lawmakers of the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee issued a resolution that recognized the Armenian genocide, urging the government to acknowledge it as such formally.
Pressed on why no prime minister has publicly characterized the World War I-era events as genocide, Netanyahu said, “I just did. Here you go.”
A spokesperson for Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office told JNS on Wednesday that it would not be adding to the comments made by Netanyahu.
BREAKING!
Prime Minister @Netanyahu OFFICIALLY recognizes the Armenian, Assyrian & Greek genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire. pic.twitter.com/fLtsr41YRy
— Patrick Bet-David (@patrickbetdavid) August 26, 2025
In 2018, then-Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan urged Netanyahu to recognize the mass murders of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman government as genocide. While Turkey denies the genocide, over 30 countries have officially recognized the 1915-1917 killings as such.
In the past, Jerusalem’s Foreign Ministry assessed that recognition by the Israeli government would likely to lead to the expulsion of embassy staff in Ankara and the recalling of Turkey’s ambassador from Israel.
However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has become more hostile toward Israel and closer to Hamas since the Palestinian terror organization’s cross-border attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In March, Erdoğan prayed for the Jewish state’s destruction as he led a prayer service marking the end of Ramadan at a mosque in Istanbul.
“May Allah, for the sake of his name ‘Al-Qahhar,’ destroy and devastate Zionist Israel,” the Islamist Turkish president told attendees. “May we all, witnessing what is happening there [in the Gaza Strip], stay united, strong and resilient as brothers; may Allah keep our unity everlasting.”
Al-Qahhar is one of the names of God in Islam and is often translated from Arabic as “The Conqueror,” “The Vanquisher,” or “The Subduer.”
Last year, the Turkish leader called Netanyahu a “vampire who feeds on blood,” while urging Muslims worldwide to take up arms against Israel.
Erdoğan also told Newsweek that Palestinian terrorists from Gaza were “simply defending their homes, streets and homeland” when they murdered some 1,200 people, primarily civilians, on Oct. 7.
In July 2024, Erdoğan openly threatened to invade the Jewish state. “We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these things to Palestine. Just as we entered Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we might do the same to them. There is nothing we cannot do,” he said in a televised address.