Despite the de facto recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Israel will not change its policy on that issue, Ruben Safrastyan, Head of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, said at today's press conference in Yerevan.
The expert pointed out that the Israeli authorities lack a single stance on recognition of the Armenian Genocide and that some of the Israeli officials think the country should not recognize the Armenian Genocide officially.
To note, in remarks in front of the General Assembly on Wednesday, Israel's President Reuven Rivlin seemed to have recognized the Armenian Genocide, Asbarez wrote citing Haaretz. Rivlin recognized the Armenian Genocide during the General Assembly's Holocaust memorial while he was defending Israel against what he called "cynical" accusations of genocide and war crimes in his country's dealing with Palestinians. Yaron Weiss, an Israeli human rights activist and an advocate of Genocide recognition, shared with Asbarez a translation, by Yoav Loeff, of Rivlin's remarks, which were made in Hebrew at the UN General Assembly. Rivlin said: "In 1915, the days of the Armenian Genocide, Avshalom Feinberg of the NILI underground [A Jewish spy network in Ottoman Palestine] wrote the following: 'My teeth have been worn away by anger, who is next? I have walked on sacred and holy ground, on the road to Jerusalem, and asked myself if it is this time that we live in-1915-or in the days of Titus or Nebuchadnezzar? And I asked myself whether I may cry for the hurt of the daughter of My people alone and if Jeremiah did not shed his tears of blood also for the Armenians?'" Rivlin added:
"Feinberg wrote that exactly 100 years ago. 100 years of hesitation and denial. In the Land of Israel of the time, in which I was born, no one denied the murder that occurred."
Nevertheless, Israel has not recognized the Genocide of Armenians so far. Furthermore, Foreign Minister of that country Liberman has lately officially denied the fact of the Armenian Genocide.