Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - The Israeli parliament discussed the issue of the Armenian Genocide during the plenary session on Tuesday, May 13. "This discussion" stressed the Chairman of the Israeli parliament, Yuli Edelstein, "does not intend to accuse any modern State. Rather, it shows that we identify ouselves with the victims of the massacre and its tremendous effects". The discussion – reported Israeli and Armenian sources - was caused by the motion presented by Zehava Gal-On, spokesman for the left wing Meretz Party, in which the Israeli government was asked to recognize the Armenian Genocide. "We are not launching accusations: we are acting as Jews who recognize the truth, and the suffering of others" Edelstein said, adding that "we cannot deny history and we need to keep human values outside the political and diplomatic caution".
Responding to the parliamentary motion, the Minister of Tourism Uzi Landau (Likud party) claimed the moral duty to "recognize, as Jews and Israelis, all human tragedies, including the Armenian Genocide". At the end of the discussion, the matter was entrusted to the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defense. This choice was disputed by the promoter of the motion Gal-On , who classified it as a strategem to "bury " the discussion about an official pronouncement of the State of Israel on the issue of the Armenian Genocide. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 14/05/2014)
