Two prominent Israeli politicians on both sides of the political aisle independently called for Jerusalem to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide after the US House adopted the Armenian Genocide resolution, Times of Israel reported. 

“The US House of Representatives vote to recognize the Armenian Genocide is a vote for historical truth and justice. Turkey cannot be allowed to intimidate the world into denying genocide.

I will continue to fight for Israeli recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” Blue and White co-leader Yair Lapid tweeted. 

According to the source, Lapid was a strong proponent of a failed push for a Knesset bill recognizing the genocide earlier this year. He tweeted in April that it was time for the government “to officially recognize the Armenian genocide and stop folding in the face of Turkish pressure.”

Former Likud minister MK Gideon Sa’ar also called for recognition, tweeting on Wednesday.

“I welcome the moral and principled stance of the US House of Representatives in recognizing the mass killing of #Armenians 100 years ago as #genocide. Israel should make similarly clear its recognition of this terrible atrocity,” he said. 

By the way, the issue of the Armenian genocide’s recognition is raised every year in the Knesset, usually in the form of proposed legislation rather than a call for a debate. It has been knocked down by sitting governments annually since 1989, when MK Yair Tzaban first brought it to the floor.

“Israel’s refusal thus far to formally recognize the Armenian slaughter as genocide is based on geopolitical and strategic considerations, primary among them its relations with Turkey,” the source noted.

In June, a full plenum debate on the issue was postponed until after Turkish elections.

By the end of June, a scheduled Knesset vote on recognition was canceled due to a lack of government support.