Armenia–Israel relations

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Armenian-Israeli relations
Map indicating locations of Armenia and Israel

Armenia

Israel

A bilateral relationship exists between Armenia and Israel. From 1993 to 2007, Armenia was served by the Embassy of Israel in Georgia. In 1996, Tsolak Momjian was appointed the honorary consul of Armenia in Jerusalem. Eleven years later, the residence of the Embassy of Israel in Armenia was moved to Jerusalem. In October 2010, Shmuel Meirom was appointed the Israeli ambassador to Armenia.[1] Armen Melkonian was appointed the Armenian ambassador to Israel in 2012, with a residence in Cairo.[2] In October of that year, Melkonian presented his credentials to Israeli President Shimon Peres.[3] On 21 September 2019 Armenia announced that it would be opening an embassy in Israel.[4] Despite generally cordial ties between the two, relations soured after Armenia withdrew its ambassador to Israel due to Israeli arms supply to Armenia's enemy, Azerbaijan, in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War.[5]

Diplomatic relations

Israel and Armenia have maintained diplomatic relations since the latter's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.[1] The Armenian diplomatic mission to Israel was located in Georgia from 1993 to 2007, although Tsolak Momjian was appointed honorary consul of Armenia in Jerusalem in 1996.[1]

There have been several high-level visits to Israel by Armenians. Former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan traveled to Israel and met with high-ranking Israeli officials, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, in January 2000. Both countries pledged to strengthen relations and signed agreements on health and bilateral investment.[6] In 2003, Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II visited Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yona Metzger. Metzger accepted Karekin's invitation to visit Armenia[7] in 2005, and his trip included a visit to the Tsitsernakaberd (the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan).[8] At the memorial, he formally recognised the Armenian genocide.[9] In 2014 Shmuel Meirom (Israel's ambassador to Armenia, with a residence in Jerusalem) said that Israel is willing to abolish all visas with Armenia soon, beginning with holders of diplomatic passports.[10]

Warming relations between the two deteriorated in September 2020. In response to continuous Israeli military support for Azerbaijan in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia recalled its ambassador to Israel.[11] The president of Artsakh Republic, Arayik Harutyunyan, accused Israel of complicity in 'genocide.'[12]

In December of 2021, Armenia transferred its Ambassador to Brazil, Arman Akopian, to Israel. Akopian holds a PhD in Semitic philology and speaks Hebrew and Arabic. In mid-1990s he had initiated Hebrew Studies at the Yerevan State University, the biggest university in Armenia.

High-level visits and meetings
Date Location Note
December 1994 Israel Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vahan Papazian visits.[1]
February 1995 Israel President Robert Kocharyan of Armenia visits.[1]
October 1998 Israel Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vardan Oskanian visits.[1]
January 2000 Jerusalem Armenian President Robert Kocharyan meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, President Ezer Weizman, Speaker of the Knesset Avraham Burg, Minister of Interior Natan Sharansky, and Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert.[1][13]
November 2005 Yerevan Israel's chief rabbi, Yona Metzger, visits Armenia and declares that the Israeli Jewish community recognizes the Armenian genocide.[14]
August 2011 Yerevan Israeli diplomats (headed by Foreign Ministry official Pinchas Avivi) and Armenian diplomats (headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakosian) meet to discuss the relationship between their countries.[15]
April 2012 Yerevan Israeli Agriculture Minister Orit Noked meets with Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and Agriculture Minister Sergo Karapetian.[16]
July 2013 Yerevan Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan meets with Yair Auron, an Israeli historian who specializes in genocide studies.[17]

Economic relations and tourism

Since independence, Armenia has received support from Israel and is one of its trading partners. Armenia Air operates twice weekly flights to Israel and Armenia is looking forward to a rise in tourism from Israel.[18]

Armenians in Israel

Armenian priest in Israel

The Armenian community has lived in the Levant for about 2,000 years. According to Yoav Loeff (lector of the Armenian language and history at Hebrew University of Jerusalem), the Armenian presence in Jerusalem dates to 301 AD thanks to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem (which dates back to the Apostolic Age).[19][20] Tigranes the Great, under whom Armenia reached its greatest extent, deported thousands of Jews to Armenia in the first century BC.[19] Israel is home to the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.[21][22] The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem was founded in 638 and is located in the Armenian Quarter, the smallest of the four quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. According to a 2006 study, 790 Armenians live in the Old City.[23] One of the earliest mentions of Armenians and Jews is in the 1723 book Travels through Europe, Asia, and into parts of Africa by French traveler Aubry de La Motraye, in which de La Motraye writes that the Armenians and Jews are "reckon'd more honest" than the Greeks in the Ottoman Empire.[24]

About 25,000 Armenians lived in Mandatory Palestine by the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, but most fled the area in the ensuing violence.[20] After the establishment of the state of Israel, most of the remaining Armenian community adopted Israeli citizenship and settled in the Old City's Armenian Quarter.[20][dubious ]

Israel supported Azerbaijan with weapons and ammunition during the first Nagorno-Karabakh War against Armenia in the early 1990s for geopolitical reasons; the perceived threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran was considered.[25][26][27] According to the Journal of Turkish Weekly, relations between Israel and Armenia deteriorated because of the conflict; blame was also partly placed on the Jews of Azerbaijan, who circulated conspiracy theories in Armenian society.[28]

In 2009–2011, The Jerusalem Post reported on incidents in which Haredi Yeshiva students spat at Armenian Christians.[29] The Jerusalem district police responded, "All complaints of mutual assault are treated with the utmost severity....more than one case ended with charges being filed and the deportation of clergy involved in assault. As opposed to the situation about three years ago, the frequency of spitting has declined dramatically."[30]

The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem (an independent, self-governing Christian patriarchate dating to the Apostolic Age) Nourhan Manougian said in 2013, "If Israel recognizes the Armenian genocide it won't be the end of the world." He further claimed that Armenians in Jerusalem were being treated as third-class citizens.[31]

Culture

Armenian ceramicist in Jerusalem

Armenian-Israelis are ethnic Armenians with Israeli citizenship. Three thousand[32] Armenians live in Israel, including 1,000 in Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter.[33] About one thousand Armenian-Israelis have Israeli citizenship, mainly in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. The Institute of African and Asian Studies at the Hebrew University established an Armenian-studies programme specialising in study of the Armenian language, literature, history and culture, and the Armenian genocide.

Armenian quarter in the Old City

According to the Jewish Virtual Library, "the Armenian Quarter is well preserved. St. James Convent is a complex of several churches with open spaces and gardens covered with a variety of greenery. The Patriarchate building next door is an impressive structure consisting of the Patriarch's residence, gold embossed throne room and several offices. Behind its main gate, the convent contains a priest's quarters, a library building, a museum, printing press, elementary and high schools and residences, youth and social clubs and residential shelters for the poor and employees of the Patriarchate. Currently the Theological Seminary is located outside the convent across the street from the main gate."[33]

Some of Jerusalem's artistic heritage has been influenced by Armenian ceramics and tile-painting.[20]

Jewish community in Armenia

A Jew in Armenia, around 1900

Before the 1996 discovery of a medieval Jewish cemetery, it was believed that there was no Jewish presence in Armenia before modern times.[34] A team of Armenian and Israeli historians and archaeologists excavated the site of the original discovery, and found 64 more graves.[34] It was determined that the Jewish community in Armenia dated back at least to the 13th century.[34] Bishop Mkrtchyan, who first discovered the cemetery, said: "At a time when you can't imagine that a country ... in Europe either helped create or didn't destroy a Jewish settlement ... It is fantastic how they could gather cultural, architectural symbolism of Jewish Armenians ... and they were connected, and built one of the strongest kingdoms during [the] time of [the] Mongols."[34]

Historians have conjectured that the first Jews arrived in Armenia shortly after the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem.[35] They lived (and live) relatively peacefully with the Armenian Christians, with anti-Semitic incidents being a rarity.[35] Many immigrated to Israel after the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948,[35] and 2002 estimates number the ethnic Jews in Armenia at under 1,000.[36]

A Russified Jewish community of 800 officially remains in Armenia, primarily in Yerevan, in addition to the Subbotniks who live near Sevan.[19][37] Rimma Varzhapetian-Feller, head of Armenia's Jewish community, has said that she always felt proud of Armenia when she met fellow Jews from other parts of the former Soviet Union: "We always declare everywhere that there has never been antisemitism in Armenia, that Armenia is a good place for Jews to live and, more importantly, that Armenia is quite a stable country in political and social respects".[citation needed] The first instances of antisemitism in Armenia occurred in September 2004 when, for the first time in Armenia's history, the Joint Tragedies Memorial in Yerevan was desecrated.[38]

On 23 October 2004, Armenian Department for Ethnic and Religious Minority Issues head Hranoush Kharatyan accused Israeli leaders of promoting intolerance toward non-Jews[39] in response to an incident where a yeshiva student spat on Archbishop of Jerusalem Nourhan Manougian during a religious procession in the city.[40] The student eventually apologized to the archbishop.[41] During her 2012 visit to Armenia, Israeli Minister of Agriculture Orit Noked said: "We are like each other with our history, character, with our small number of population and having communities abroad."[42]

Armenian genocide recognition

see caption
President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi with leaders of the Israeli Greek and Russian Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic and Maronite Churches in 1958

Israel does not officially recognize the Armenian genocide.[43] Recognition of the genocide became a subject of debate in Israel in the years following Armenia's 1991 independence from the Soviet Union. Turkey has warned that labeling the events as genocide by Israel or the United States would harm its relations with Israel.[44] In October 2008, the Knesset voted to have a parliamentary committee convene on the Armenian genocide at the urging of Meretz chairman Haim Oron, leading to meetings of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees. The government of Turkey continued to lobby to prevent the recognition from going further.[45] According to The Jerusalem Post, "many Israelis are eager for their country to recognize the Genocide".[46] During the summer of 2011, the Knesset held its first discussion on the matter. By a unanimous 20–0 vote, the Israeli parliament approved a public session on the issue by the Education, Culture and Sports Committee at the request of Meretz Knesset member Zahava Gal-On;[47] it stopped short of passing a bill put forward by Gilad Erdan, an Israeli cabinet minister and close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for political reasons.[48] Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, one of the bill's supporters, said: "It is my duty as a Jew and Israeli to recognize the tragedies of other peoples."[49] Rivlin told an Israel-based Armenian action committee that he intends to introduce an annual parliamentary session to mark the Armenian genocide.[50]

The Armenian community of Jerusalem believes that the genocide denial is due to fear of jeopardizing diplomatic relations with Turkey.[20] Yair Auron, an Israeli historian, scholar and expert specializing on Holocaust and Genocide studies, said that Israel is concerned about hurting its current trade relations with Turkey and wants to retain the uniqueness of the Holocaust.[51]

In 2001, when he was Israeli Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres called the Armenian genocide "meaningless."[52] In response, Israel Charny, executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem, wrote: "It seems that because of your wishes to advance very important relations with Turkey, you have been prepared to circumvent the subject of the Armenian genocide in 1915–1920 ... it may be that in your broad perspective of the needs of the state of Israel, it is your obligation to circumvent and desist from bringing up the subject with Turkey, but, as a Jew and an Israeli, I am ashamed of the extent to which you have now entered into the range of actual denial of the Armenian genocide, comparable to denials of the Holocaust."[52]

In 2008, Yosef Shagal, an Azerbaijani-born former Israeli parliamentarian from Yisrael Beiteinu said in an interview with an Azerbaijani news outlet: "I find it is deeply offensive, and even blasphemous to compare the Holocaust of European Jewry during the Second World War with the mass extermination of the Armenian people during the First World War. Jews were killed because they were Jews ... [With Armenians] the picture is principally different - seeking to establish the state and national independence, Turkish Armenians sided with the Russian Empire, which was at war with Turkey".[53]

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem on May 9, 2016. Concluding his speech he said, that "the Armenians were massacred in 1915. My parents remember thousands of Armenian migrants finding asylum at the Armenian Church. No one in Israel denies that an entire nation was massacred."[54]

On 1 August 2016, the Knesset Committee on Education, Culture and Sports recognized the Armenian genocide. The Committee Chairman, Yakov Margi said: "It is our moral obligation to recognize the Holocaust of the Armenian nation."[55][56]

According to Marc David Baer, Israeli genocide denial has been facilitated by Turkish Jews. He claims that, "promoting themselves as loyal subjects of the sultan, Ottoman Jewish leaders sided with Sultan Abdülhamid II against Armenians, who became their common enemy." Today, the main Jewish leaders in Turkey—chief rabbis David Asseo and Ishak Haleva, and former Jewish community president Bensiyon Pinto—oppose recognition of the Armenian genocide.[57][58]

Resident diplomatic missions

  • Armenia has an embassy in Tel Aviv.
  • Israel is accredited to Armenia from its embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia and maintains an honorary consulate in Yerevan.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Bilateral Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  2. ^ Chernamorian, Artiom (May 11, 2012). "Armenia Already Has An Ambassador In Israel". Friends of Armenia. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  3. ^ Cashman, Greer (October 17, 2012). "New Egyptian envoy: We're committed to peace". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  4. ^ "Armenia to open embassy in Israel". Israel National News. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  5. ^ "Armenia withdraws ambassador to Israel over Azerbaijan arms sales". middle east eye. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ^ Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Eurasia - Armenia Archived July 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Ara Abrahamian called to develop Armenia-Israel relations". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  8. ^ "The Armenian Church". armenianchurch.org.
  9. ^ "World Jewish Congress: Israeli Chief Rabbi says killing of Armenians in 1915 was genocide".
  10. ^ "Arminfo: Shmuel Meirom: Israel is willing to contribute of its experience in the field of economy, but it cannot force Israeli business to invest in Armenia". arminfo.am.
  11. ^ Hovhannisyan, Nvard; Ayyub, Rami (2020-10-01). "Armenia Recalls Ambassador to Israel Over Arms Sales to Azerbaijan". U.S. News & World Report.
  12. ^ "Armenian leader accuses Israel of aiding 'genocide' against his people".
  13. ^ "President of Armenia - Visit to Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. January 20, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  14. ^ "Israeli chief rabbi in historic Armenia visit". European Jewish Press. November 24, 2005. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  15. ^ Danielyan, Emil (August 23, 2011). "Armenia, Israel Review Tenuous Relationship". Azatutyun. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  16. ^ "Israeli Minister Visits Armenia". Asbarez. April 16, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  17. ^ "President Sargsyan receives visiting Israeli historian". Armenia Now. July 18, 2013. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  18. ^ Are Israeli-Armenian relations warming up? The Jerusalem Post
  19. ^ a b c "Armenia". National Coalition Supporting Soviet Jewry. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  20. ^ a b c d e Gelfond Feldinger, Lauren (June 29, 2013). "'We are third-class citizens,' says Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem". Haaretz. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  21. ^ "Jerusalem - The Old City: The Armenian Quarter". Jewish Virtual Library. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  22. ^ Neusner, Jacob (1965). A History of the Jews in Babylonia, Volumes 1-5. Brill Archive. p. 27. Tigranes took a large number of Jews captive, and deported them to Armavir and Vardges on the Ksakh river, which became a great commercial center.
  23. ^ Jerusalem The Old City The Urban Fabric and Geopolitical Implications (PDF). International Peace and Cooperation Center. 2009. p. 43. ISBN 978-965-7283-16-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  24. ^ Aubry de La Motraye (1723). A. de La Motraye's Travels through Europe, Asia, and into parts of Africa. London: Printed for the author. p. 189.
  25. ^ R. Hrair Dekmejian & Hovann H. Simonian. Troubled Waters: The Geopolitics of the Caspian Region, 2003, p. 125 "In addition to commercial links, Israel has given strong backing to Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which reportedly has included military assistance."
  26. ^ Sedat Laçiner, Mehmet Özcan, İhsan Bal. USAK Yearbook of International Politics and Law 2010, Vol. 3, p. 322 "Israel was one of the strategic partners and supporters of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh War with Armenia."
  27. ^ Bahruz Balayev, The Right to Self-Determination in the South Caucasus: Nagorno Karabakh in Context, Lexington Books, 2013, p. 73 "Israel has supported Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia for the enclave of Nagorno Karabakh."
  28. ^ Laciner, Sedat (2002). "Armenia's Jewish Scepticism and Its Impact on Armenia-Israel Relations". Journal of Turkish Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  29. ^ Derfner, Larry (26 November 2009). "Mouths filled with hatred". The Jerusalem Post. Of all Old City Christians, the Armenians get spat on most frequently because their quarter stands closest to those hot spots.
  30. ^ Rosenberg, Oz (6 November 2011). "Armenian clergy subjected to Haredi spitting attacks". Haaretz. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  31. ^ "'We are third-class citizens,' says Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem". Haaretz. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  32. ^ "Armenia Diaspora (Հայաստան սփյուռք)" (in Armenian). Archived from the original on 2013-05-11.
  33. ^ a b "The Armenian Quarter". Jewish Virtual Library. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  34. ^ a b c d Borshchevskaya, Anna (February 11, 2013). "Jewish Armenia". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  35. ^ a b c "Armenia: History of Jewish Community". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  36. ^ "Armenia's Jewish Scepticism and Its Impact on Armenia-Israel Relations". Turkish Weekly. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  37. ^ "The Subbotniks: an Armenian community on the fringe of extinction - World". Jewish Journal. 14 September 2006.
  38. ^ Danielyan, Emil (26 January 2005). "Armenia: Country's Jews Alarmed Over Nascent Anti-Semitism". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  39. ^ "Armenia: Country's Jews Alarmed Over Nascent Anti-Semitism". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
  40. ^ Armenian archbishop quizzed over spat with yeshiva student. Haaretz, Oct 11, 2004
  41. ^ Jerusalem yeshiva student apologizes to Armenian archbishop for spitting Haaretz, Oct. 18, 2004
  42. ^ "Israeli Minister of Agriculture Speaks About Similarities Between Histories of Armenians and Jews". Armenian Mirror-Spectator. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  43. ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (April 24, 2015). "Why Israel does not recognize the Armenian 'genocide'". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  44. ^ "Israel expresses concern over Turkish-Armenian massacre dispute". The Associated Press. 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  45. ^ "A Turkey-Armenia reconciliation?". Los Angeles Times. 2008-04-25. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  46. ^ David Smith (2008-04-25). "Armenia's 'Christian holocaust'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  47. ^ Stoil, Rebecca Anna (18 May 2011). "Knesset moves toward recognizing Armenian genocide". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 19 May 2011. For years, consecutive governments had blocked attempts by MKs to raise the subject of recognizing the genocide out of concern that such recognition could damage relations with Ankara. This year, however, the government did not block the hearing.
  48. ^ "Israeli minister calls to recognize Armenian genocide". Reuters. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  49. ^ Lis, Jonathan (31 May 2011). "Knesset Speaker working to boost recognition of Armenian genocide". Haaretz. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  50. ^ Lis, Jonathan (31 May 2011). "Knesset Speaker working to boost recognition of Armenian genocide". Haaretz. Retrieved 2 June 2011. Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said Monday that he wanted to convene an annual parliamentary session of the full Knesset to mark the Armenian genocide of 1915 and 1916 at the hands of the Turks. 'It is my duty as a Jew and Israeli to recognize the tragedies of other peoples,' Rivlin said, speaking to an Israel-based Armenian action committee.
  51. ^ Der Mugrdechian, Barlow (December 2000). "Dr. Yair Auron Analyzes Jewish Response to the Armenian Genocide Through New Research". Hye Sharzhoom. California State University, Fresno Center for Armenian Studies. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  52. ^ a b Fisk, Robert (18 April 2001). "Peres stands accused over denial of 'meaningless' Armenian Holocaust". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  53. ^ Депутат парламента Израиля: "Считаю глубоко оскорбительными и даже богохульственными попытки сравнивать Катастрофу европейского еврейства в годы Второй мировой войны с массовым истреблением армянского народа в годы Первой мировой войны". Day.Az (in Russian). 28 March 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  54. ^ No one denies the massacre of Armenians, says President of Israel, Mediamax news agency
  55. ^ Knesset Education Committee recognizes Armenian genocide, Times of Israel
  56. ^ Education Committee recognizes Armenian genocide, August 1, 2016, Knesset News
  57. ^ Opinion | The Jews Who Befriended Turkey and Became Genocide Deniers, Marc David Baer, Apr. 23, 2020, Haaretz
  58. ^ Marc David Baer, Sultanic Saviors and Tolerant Turks: Writing Ottoman Jewish History, Denying the Armenian Genocide, Jadaliyya

Further reading

  • Bishku, Michael B. (2021). "Israel and Armenia: So Near Experientially, But So Far Away Geopolitically?". Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. 44 (2): 19–42. doi:10.1353/jsa.2021.0001. S2CID 232040530.