Azerbaijan’s government on Tuesday admitted that it exerted pressure on Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to foil a vote by that country’s parliament—the Knesset—to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

The Israeli cabinet recognized the Armenian Genocide, in what has been largely seen as a move to antagonize Ankara, amid the continuing turmoil in the Middle East. That recognition would have needed approval by the Knesset, which went into summer break and indefinitely delayed the vote.

Last month, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper, citing sources close to the government, reported that the Knesset did not vote to recognize the Armenian Genocide due to pressure from Azerbaijan on Netanyahu.

Speaking to the Turkish Television channel Haber Global, Hikmet Hajiyev, the chief foreign policy aide to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, said that his government took immediate action upon learning about the Israeli government’s vote.

“As soon as this issue arose, Azerbaijan, on the instructions of Mr. President [Aliyev], began intensive diplomatic efforts. We also conveyed our messages to the Israeli side that the adoption of such a decision would, first of all, be unfair, and would not reflect historical reality, adding that we did not consider its adoption advisable,” Hajiyev told the Turkish media outlet.

“The positive side is that the Israeli side took Azerbaijan’s messages seriously. We believe that further progress on this issue has been prevented,” the top adviser added.

All previous attempts to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide in Israel have failed. The decision came amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Israel, with Ankara accusing Netanyahu’s government of committing genocide in Gaza.

The Armenian government has been cautious in its response to the discussions. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in response to a question, last month said: “We see no need to respond, because we believe that not engaging in the issue of the weaponization of the Armenian Genocide is in the interests of the Republic of Armenia.”

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Ruben Vardanyan and his wife, Veronika Zonabend at the Samsung lab at UWC Dilijan, circa 2021

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention on Tuesday welcomed and voiced its full support for the initiative announced by Veronika Zonabend, the wife of imprisoned former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, to organize an international women’s humanitarian delegation to Baku, in order to meet with the Armenian hostages there, including her husband.

Zonabend, who announced her initiative in May, repeated her appeal last week, urging the human rights defenders of both Armenia and Azerbaijan to actively address the issue and called on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to form an ad-hoc committee to oversee her request.

Zonabend said on Friday that none of the entities she had directed her appeal to, including rights and humanitarian organizations, had reacted to her proposal.

Hence, the Lemkin Institute’s statement on Tuesday shines a spotlight on Zonabend’s efforts to pursue this effort.

“Vardanyan is being illegally and arbitrarily held in Baku with other former Artsakh officials as well as Armenian prisoners of war (POWs), some of whom have been held since 2020 despite a Ceasefire Agreement that required the exchange of all prisoners,” the Lemkin Institute said.

Below are excerpts from the institute’s announcement on Tuesday.

After gaining full control over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh through aggression and genocide, Azerbaijan took dozens of Armenians hostage, most of them officials in the government of the Republic of Artsakh. These hostages were falsely charged with terrorism and other high crimes. They have since been held in deplorable conditions, subjected to torture, and forced to undergo show trials. Azerbaijan additionally closed the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Baku, leaving the Armenian hostages and POWs without international humanitarian support and monitoring. A May 2026 report from the International Commission of Jurists stressed that the ongoing trials of Armenian hostages do not comply with international human rights standards or law. In general, Azerbaijan has failed to meet the demands of international organizations to release the hostages. Azerbaijan is among the least democratic countries in the world with ever deteriorating human rights conditions. The Lemkin Institute considers Azerbaijan to be a genocidal state.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev harbors a unique hatred of Armenians, which he has institutionalized across the government and within the education system. This adds to the precarity of the Armenian hostages being held in Baku.

It is within this context that Ms. Zonabend has initiated a humanitarian mission to Baku in the hopes of meeting with her husband and other captives. Ms. Zonabend and her husband have dedicated their lives to various international humanitarian projects, one of the most prominent of which is the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. It is time for the international community to extend its full humanitarian support to them.

The Lemkin Institute urges the governments of the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, and EU member states to support this humanitarian mission by using their diplomatic presence in Azerbaijan to guarantee the safety and security of Ms. Zonabend and other women visiting Baku.

We further urge human rights advocates, influential individuals, political figures, and all relevant international organizations, particularly those involved in human rights and genocide prevention, to join in supporting the the wives and family members of the imprisoned Armenians to accomplish their basic rights to visit their beloved ones in Baku.

The world must act to save the Armenian hostages. Demonstrations of humanity in this case will amplify efforts to combat the accelerating evil in the world during such challenging times.

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Assailants are captured on video at the St. James Monastery in Jerusalem

The Armenian National Committee of Jerusalem issued a statement on Tuesday strongly condemning a recent attack in the Armenian Quarter, during which six religious Jewish Israelis allegedly spat on the entrance of St. James Cathedral and threw stones toward the homes of Armenian residents.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday, drew law enforcement and resulted in the arrest of six individuals believed to be responsible for yet another attack on the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem.

The Times of Israel reported that the six alleged assailants also threw stones at the wall of the compound, which is the headquarters of the Armenian Church in the region and the home of its top local cleric. Local police said that five of the suspects were minors, and one was an adult.

According to a local Armenian journalist, Kegham Balian, the suspects saw an Armenian woman filming them, and yelled at her, “Get back inside, you daughter of a w****!”

Video of the incident showed one suspect hurling stones, reportedly at the woman filming them.

Balian also reported that the Armenian Patriarchate filed a formal complaint.

In its statement, the ANC of Jerusalem said the incident forms part of a continuing pattern of harassment, intimidation and violence targeting Jerusalem’s Armenian community. It warned that the repeated attacks have created a climate of impunity, fuelled by the lack of consistent law enforcement and prosecution.

The ANC of Jerusalem called on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to “publicly condemn the attack and reaffirm Israel’s commitment to protecting the safety, dignity and fundamental rights of all religious and national communities.” It also urged Israeli authorities to conduct an immediate, impartial investigation and bring those responsible to justice.

International human rights organizations, diplomatic missions and the broader international community were also urged to closely follow the situation and take meaningful steps to safeguard the rights, security and historic presence of Jerusalem’s Armenian community.

Six suspects were arrested after allegedly throwing rocks and spitting at the Armenian Cathedral of St. James in Jerusalem’s Old City, Israel Police announced on Sunday.

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Raffi Boghosian

The Golden Globe Foundation appointed Raffi Boghosian, a producer and journalist, as president of its Board of Directors.

“I’m honored to share that I have been elected President of the Golden Globe Foundation,” Boghosian, who was appointed to the board last year, said in a social media post.

“I’m grateful for the trust and confidence placed in me, and I look forward to serving the Foundation, supporting its mission, and making a positive impact,” Boghosian added.

The Golden Globe Foundation is a nonprofit successor organization to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which previously owned and managed the Golden Globe Awards. The awards themselves are now owned and operated by Dick Clark Productions following the June 12, 2023 dissolution of the HFPA, through which it sold all its assets and intellectual property to DCP and rebranded itself as the Golden Globe Foundation.

The Golden Globe Foundation is most recognized for supporting a range of nonprofit organizations, including educational programs for filmmakers, film restoration projects, and financial aid, resources and services for journalists worldwide.

Boghosian is an experienced and accomplished Arabic producer, journalist, and television host. He has over a decade of experience in media, and he owns and operates the Hollywood-based Boghos Entertainment, a leading full-service production company servicing the broadcast industry in the Middle East and North African Region.

Boghosian also serves as the Hollywood correspondent for the Dubai-based television network Al-Arabiya Television.

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A group of European migrants

Yerevan Says it Has Not Received Such a Proposal

The Italian government is proposing to create a network of centers outside the European Union dedicated to the management and return of what the country is calling “irregular migrants,” based on cooperation with countries of origin and transit.

The idea was first put forward by the Italian premier Giorgia Meloni at the end of June, after gaining approval of the new EU regulation on returns.

The proposal was to have been presented by Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi on Tuesday at the extraordinary Council of European Union interior ministers. The meeting was organized, Euro News reported, after the migration emergency that erupted in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on Moroccan territory, where over the course of the last few days, as many as 70,000 migrants forced their way into the autonomous Spanish territory.

Armenia is among the initial list proposed by Italy. Potential other candidates included on the list are Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan and Montenegro.

Uganda is among the options considered most concrete. Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are reported to have already expressed interest in possible projects in the African country. The question of the resources needed to fund the project, however, remains open, although under the Italian proposal the initiative would be financed by the EU.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the EU had not submitted such a proposal to Yerevan, thus the matter has not been discussed by Armenia.

“No such proposal was made to us [i.e. Armenia], no such matter was discussed with us,” Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said.

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