‘It’s Never Too Late To Do the Right Thing,’ FM Sa’ar Applauds Israeli Cabine

Israel’s cabinet approved a resolution on Sunday formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide, advancing legislation proposed by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar that describes acknowledgment of the mass killings as a “moral and historical duty” and sends the measure to the Knesset for a final vote.

The resolution, which passed by a unanimous vote in the Cabinet, officially recognizes the mass killing of approximately 1.5 million Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire and calls on Israel to condemn efforts to deny, minimize, or distort the historical record.

Sa’ar introduced the proposal last week, setting in motion what the government described as a significant policy change. On news of the Cabinet’s approval of the measure, Sa’ar wrote on X: “It’s never too late to do the right thing.” He added, “I thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for the support and the government ministers for their unanimous support in approving the resolution proposal.”

For decades, Israel refrained from formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide while maintaining diplomatic and commercial relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan. The cabinet vote marks a shift in that approach as tensions with Turkey have escalated in recent years.

The legislation must now be approved by the Knesset before becoming state law.

Explanatory text accompanying the proposal states that the Armenian Genocide began in April 1915 with the arrest, deportation, and killing of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, community leaders, and members of the educated elite in Constantinople.

It says Ottoman authorities subsequently launched a systematic campaign against the broader Armenian population. Armenian men were conscripted into forced labor before being killed, while women, children, and elderly civilians were expelled from their homes and forced on death marches toward the Syrian desert. During those marches, the proposal says victims were subjected to mass murder, rape, deliberate starvation, and dehydration.

The explanatory text states that approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed and that the campaign destroyed a cultural and historical heritage that had existed across Anatolia for thousands of years.

It also says the Armenian Genocide continues to face organized attempts to deny or minimize what occurred despite what it describes as extensive and unequivocal historical documentation. The proposal specifically cites what it calls the manipulative rewriting of history books, primarily by Turkey.

According to the proposal, 32 countries have recognized the Armenian Genocide through parliamentary resolutions, legislation, or official declarations. In addition to formal recognition, the resolution calls on Israel to condemn all efforts to blur, minimize, or deny the atrocities committed against the Armenian people.