The Israeli government unanimously recognized the Armenian genocide, but parliamentary approval did not occur. According to Haaretz and Maariv, Azerbaijan engaged in direct contacts with Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and influenced ultra-Orthodox parties.
On June 28, 2026, the Israeli government unanimously supported Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s proposal for the official recognition of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Sa’ar called this step a moral and historical duty of the Jewish state, but less than a month later, it became clear that the decision could not be secured by a Knesset vote.
The issue was removed from the parliamentary agenda twice, after which the vote ultimately did not take place. Israeli media link this not to a usual lack of time, but to active pressure from Azerbaijan — one of Israel’s most important strategic, energy, and military partners.
Publications by Haaretz and Maariv reveal two parallel channels of influence on the Israeli leadership. The first went through the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the second through deputies of the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, without whose support the government could not guarantee a majority in the Knesset.
What exactly did the Israeli cabinet decide
At the meeting on June 28, the Israeli government unanimously recognized the mass extermination of the Armenian people as genocide. Materials prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that systematic persecution began on April 24, 1915, with the arrests of representatives of the Armenian intelligentsia, clergy, and social elite in Constantinople.
After the destruction or deportation of the Armenian community leaders, the Ottoman authorities began mass expulsion of the population. Men were separated from their families, sent to forced labor, and killed, while women, children, and the elderly were driven towards the Syrian desert, where many died from hunger, thirst, disease, and violence.
According to the most common historical estimates, about 1.5 million Armenians became victims of this policy. Gideon Sa’ar stated that Israel must call what happened by its name, as the Jewish people cannot demand recognition of their own tragedy while simultaneously avoiding recognition of crimes against other peoples.
The Foreign Minister also emphasized that the decision is not revenge against Turkey for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hostile policy. According to him, the recognition is based not on current political circumstances but on historical facts and Israel’s moral responsibility.
After the meeting, it was reported that the government’s position should receive confirmation from the Knesset. It was at this stage that the process stopped, although the cabinet’s decision was not officially canceled.
Why the dispute over the status of recognition arose
The Israeli government presented the resolution on June 28 as official recognition of the Armenian genocide. At the same time, several media outlets reported that a separate Knesset vote was required to complete the political procedure, which would give the decision parliamentary legitimacy and make it less dependent on the position of a specific government.
Moreover, there were separate initiatives in parliament to recognize the genocide and establish an official day of remembrance. None of them had previously passed all the necessary stages, so the cabinet’s decision became Israel’s most serious step on this issue in the state’s history.
The difference between a government resolution and a parliamentary decision has not only legal but also political significance. The cabinet can change or revise its position, whereas Knesset support would turn recognition into a more stable state line.
Therefore, claiming that Israel completely abandoned recognition after pressure from Baku is incorrect. The government’s decision remains in force, but its parliamentary consolidation was halted.
Azerbaijan demanded a review of the decision
On June 29, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan officially expressed dissatisfaction with Israel’s position. In Baku’s statement, the recognition was called a ‘distortion of historical facts,’ and the expression ‘Armenian genocide’ was replaced with the phrase ‘events of 1915.’
The Azerbaijani side claimed that such decisions allegedly hinder reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan and complicate the achievement of sustainable peace in the region. Baku openly called on Israel to reconsider the decision made by the government of Gideon Sa’ar and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Such a reaction was expected, as Azerbaijan traditionally supports Turkey’s position, which refuses to recognize the extermination of Armenians as genocide. However, judging by Israeli media publications, the official statement did not limit diplomatic pressure.
Baku’s contact with Netanyahu’s office
On July 19, Haaretz reported that Hikmet Hajiyev, the Azerbaijani president’s foreign policy advisor, contacted the Israeli Prime Minister’s office. According to an unnamed Israeli source, after this, Netanyahu ordered not to bring the issue to a Knesset vote.
However, there is no confirmation of a personal conversation between Netanyahu and Hajiyev. It is more accurate to say that the Azerbaijani representative approached the head of government’s office, after which a political decision was made to stop the parliamentary procedure.
According to Haaretz, the Israeli side assured Baku representatives that the vote would not take place. Netanyahu’s office and Hikmet Hajiyev did not publicly confirm this information, so it remains a media report based on sources within the Israeli political system.
However, a Maariv publication that appeared on July 20 supplemented this version and explained why Netanyahu might indeed have had problems with the majority.
Pressure through Shas and United Torah Judaism
According to Maariv political observer Anna Barsky, representatives of the Azerbaijani Jewish community approached deputies of the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism. They were persuaded that recognizing the Armenian genocide at the Knesset level would harm relations between Israel and Azerbaijan.
During these contacts, the strategic ties between the two states, security cooperation, Azerbaijan’s proximity to Iran’s northern border, and Israel’s dependence on Azerbaijani oil were emphasized. For the ultra-Orthodox parties, these arguments apparently proved significant enough.
Representatives of Shas and United Torah Judaism informed the Likud leadership that they would not support recognition and might vote against it. After this, Netanyahu’s advisors concluded that there was no guaranteed majority for the decision in the Knesset.
The issue was removed from the agenda twice. As a result, the Prime Minister decided not to risk a public defeat and to limit himself to the already adopted government resolution.
For Netanyahu, losing the vote could have been worse than its complete absence. If the Knesset rejected the cabinet’s position, it would look like an official refusal by the Israeli parliament to recognize the Armenian genocide, despite the unanimous decision of the ministers.
NAnews — News of Israel notes that the versions of Haaretz and Maariv do not contradict each other. Most likely, pressure was exerted simultaneously on several levels: through direct contacts between Baku and the Prime Minister’s office and through work with parties on which the parliamentary majority depended.
Oil, weapons, and the border with Iran
The importance of Azerbaijan for Israel is hard to overestimate. According to Reuters, in 2025, Azerbaijani oil accounted for about 46.4% of all Israeli oil imports, the highest figure in the last decade.
Oil is delivered via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and then shipped by sea from the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Supplies continued even after Turkish authorities announced the cessation of trade with Israel.
Azerbaijan is also a major buyer of Israeli weapons. Israel supplied Baku with drones, missile systems, reconnaissance technologies, and other military equipment that played a significant role in the conflicts around Nagorno-Karabakh.
For Jerusalem, the geographical location of Azerbaijan, which borders Iran, is also significant. For many years, relations between the two countries have been viewed in Israel as part of a regional system to contain Tehran.
That is why the issue of historical memory collided with specific interests of energy and national security. Recognizing the Armenian genocide was capable of jeopardizing relations that the Israeli leadership considers strategic.
Reaction of Turkey and Armenia
Turkey sharply condemned the decision made by Israel. Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected the definition of the events of 1915 as genocide and accused Israel of trying to use historical tragedy in the current political confrontation.
Ankara continues to assert that Armenians died in conditions of war, unrest, and interethnic clashes, not as a result of a pre-planned policy of extermination. This position contradicts the conclusions of most genocide researchers and documents indicating the systematic nature of deportations and killings.
Unexpectedly restrained was the reaction of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He stated that he does not want to participate in using the memory of the Armenian genocide as a political tool.
This position is related to the Armenian government’s attempts to normalize relations with Turkey and complete the peace process with Azerbaijan. Yerevan fears that recognition by third countries may be used not for historical justice but as a means of pressure in regional politics.
Why Israel avoided recognition for decades
The issue of the Armenian genocide has been repeatedly discussed in Israel. Over the years, corresponding initiatives have been supported by deputies of various parties, historians, public figures, and representatives of the Armenian community in Jerusalem.
In 2016, the Knesset’s Education, Culture, and Sports Committee recognized the genocide and called on the government to follow its example. However, the parliamentary committee’s decision did not become the official position of the entire state.
In 2018, another initiative reached discussion in the Knesset, but the vote was not completed. Bills submitted later also did not receive the necessary support.
The main reason for Israel’s caution for a long time was its relations with Turkey. After the deterioration of Israeli-Turkish relations, Azerbaijan came to the forefront, becoming Israel’s most important oil supplier, arms buyer, and partner in countering Iran.
In August 2025, Netanyahu personally stated in an interview with American host Patrick Bet-David that he recognizes the Armenian genocide. However, this statement was not an official state decision, and the Prime Minister mistakenly assumed that the Knesset had already adopted the corresponding resolution.
The government’s decision on June 28, 2026, became Israel’s most serious advancement on this issue. Nevertheless, it again stalled at the last political stage.
What is known as of July 20
The government decision to recognize the Armenian genocide has not been officially canceled. There are no reports that the cabinet has reviewed the June 28 resolution or abandoned the formulations contained in it.
At the same time, the Knesset did not approve the decision, no new voting date has been set, and the issue was removed from the agenda twice. Therefore, there is still no parliamentary or legislative consolidation of recognition in Israel.
The phrase ‘Azerbaijan forced Israel to abandon recognition of the Armenian genocide’ simplifies the situation. It is more accurate to say that Baku, according to Haaretz and Maariv, managed to stop the recognition’s approval in the Knesset but did not achieve the cancellation of the government’s decision.
NAnews — News of Israel considers it important to separate these two levels. The Israeli cabinet did indeed recognize the Armenian genocide, but strategic interests, oil dependence, and domestic political calculations did not allow this recognition to become a stable position of the parliament.
Gideon Sa’ar stated that recognition is Israel’s moral and historical duty. But when this moral duty collided with oil, arms contracts, relations with Azerbaijan, and opposition to Iran, the Israeli leadership preferred not to bring the decision to a final parliamentary vote.