Tensions in Turkey-Israel relations accumulating over the past two years have recently reached their zenith.
Given the peculiarities of the regional power layout, an issue of interest rises on how it all might affect Armenia – be it in terms of Armenia-Israel relations or the prospects of the Armenian Genocide recognition in Israel.
Or in the USA, for that matter. Jewish organizations have been traditionally supporting the Turkish lobby in their resistance to Genocide recognition process in the US Congress.
There is also another nuance: Yerevan-Tel-Aviv official relations, to a certain degree, contradict the relations between Armenians and Jews. If Israeli authorities do not recognize the Armenian Genocide, Israel’s Anti-Defamation League (ADL) does.
In August 2007, ADL stated that “it recognizes the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as the Genocide of the Armenian people”. ADL Chairman Abraham Foxman even stated that the decision was made after consulting with historians and Nobel Peace Price Winner, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.
It is noteworthy that this year the Armenian Genocide recognition issue was submitted to Knesset for discussion (this was the second time, the first being in 2008). It would be more preferable if the issue were considered by the Parliamentary Commission on Education, however it has been given to the Commission on Foreign Affairs and Defense, where it doesn’t stand a chance.
Nonetheless, some three years ago something like that couldn’t even be dreamed about.
What do Armenians think about the recent developments?
Director of the Caucasus Media Institute (CMI) Alexander Iskandaryan thinks that further deepening of the tensions in Turkish-Israel relations may lead to higher chances of activated discussions of the Armenian Genocide recognition in Israel.
Ruben Melkonyan, specialist in Turkish studies, shares this opinion: “Whatever it is that Armenia might win from the current situation, it will be something superficial, say, the Genocide recognition issue might be actively discussed at the Knesset, or Israel may take a more neutral standpoint in the process of international recognition of the Genocide.”
According to him, strategic partnership will always be a higher priority to Israel than its relations with Armenia, and to Israel the Genocide issue will always be a tool for a political bargain.
Vahan Hovhannisyan, head of Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun party's parliamentary faction, has given a political assessment of the situation stating that Turkey has provoked the situation with the “Freedom Flotilla”.
According to him, it would be naive to believe that Israel would allow six ships with unidentified cargo and passengers to enter Gaza without inspection.
Meanwhile, on May 31 in Tel-Aviv, a protest was held in front of the Turkish Embassy building against Ankara's anti-Israel policy.
The protestors were chanting “Turkiya ha-zona, Turkiya ha-zona” (Turkey is a prostitute), but of more interest is that slogans were also voiced in support of Armenia.
On the whole, there is certain confusion in regards with official and political Armenian opinion on this issue .
From the one hand, it is obvious that Turkey and Israel are connected by strategic partnership, which is still quite strong. And that partnership is not in Armenia’s interests at all.
On the other hand, Turkey is trying today to become the leader of the Islamic world, pushing aside Iran and some other Arabic countries. Moreover, it is Iran's interests as well as those of other Arabic countries that Turkey is defending in the international arena.
The third side to this issue is the solidarity of Arabs and Iranians with today's Turkey in terms of its activated anti-Israel policy. From a political viewpoint, the latest events are, certainly, in Turkey’s interests: never before have so many Muslim countries raised the Turkish flag.
Given such a layout, it is very hard to say something unequivocal, probably because official Yerevan is silent.
And until the tensions are eased it is too early to speak about the power layout in the region and, in that context, the possibilities of the Genocide recognition in Israel.
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