ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
More than eighty years after its founding, Israel, isolated by 99% of humanity because of its Gaza Genocide, has taken a historic step toward recognizing the Armenian Genocide. But if historical truth—not political expediency—is the guiding principle, recognition must also extend to the Greek and Assyrian victims of the same Ottoman campaign of extermination. And the Israelis should have no doubt: those who committed Genocide in Gaza will be brought to Justice.
By Nick Stamatakis
Israel’s long-overdue recognition of the Armenian Genocide is not merely another international news story. For me, it is personal.
In 2019, my son Andreas – then serving as an intern in the office of Congressman Gus Bilirakis – and I, together with many Hellenic organizations and especially our Pontian friends (I will mention the names of Haralambos Vasiliadis, Costas Tsilfidis, Dimitris Molohidis and George Gialtouridis among many others) were among the protagonists behind the introduction and eventual passage of H.Res. 296 in the United States Congress. That resolution was historic not only because it recognized the Armenian Genocide, but because its very first paragraph acknowledged the broader Ottoman campaign of genocide against Christians.
The resolution opened with these words:
“Whereas the United States has a proud history of recognizing and condemning the Armenian Genocide, the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, and providing relief to the survivors of the campaign of genocide against Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians.” (Link here for the full text of HR 296).
Those words mattered. They placed the Armenian Genocide in its full historical context: not as an isolated event, but as part of the same genocidal campaign that targeted Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians of the Ottoman Empire.
At that critical moment, Jewish American organizations stood next to us and supported the resolution. Their support was meaningful, and it helped make history. But that history now raises a serious and unavoidable question: if those organizations understood in 2019 that the Armenian and Hellenic Genocides belong together historically and morally, why are they not urging Israel today to recognize the Hellenic Genocides as well?
Israel’s decision to move now toward official recognition of the Armenian Genocide is historic, welcome, and decades overdue. But we must speak plainly: it took more than eighty years after the establishment of the State of Israel for this recognition to happen. For decades, successive Israeli governments avoided the issue. They hid behind diplomacy, strategic relations with Turkey, military cooperation with the Azeris (Armenia’s sworn enemies), intelligence needs, and regional calculations. Historical truth was sacrificed again and again on the altar of political expediency.
Now, suddenly, Israel discovers the moral urgency of recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Why now?
The timing cannot be ignored. Israel is more isolated globally than at any point in its modern history. Its conduct in Gaza has produced widespread accusations of genocide—accusations Israel rejects but which have nevertheless reshaped global opinion. Its recent war with Iran has also exposed serious strategic vulnerabilities and deepened the sense that Israel is entering a new and dangerous diplomatic phase. In this environment, the recognition of the Armenian Genocide appears not only as an act of historical justice, but also as a political maneuver by a state urgently seeking moral ground.
For much of the past century, influential Jewish organizations and successive Israeli governments opposed, delayed, or discouraged the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Whether this was done to protect Israel’s relations with Turkey, to preserve the Holocaust’s unique place in public memory, or to prevent the term “genocide” from being widely applied beyond the Holocaust, the result was the same: Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other Christian victims of Ottoman extermination were made to wait.
This was always morally indefensible. It was also historically ironic. The term “genocide,” in its modern legal meaning, was coined by Raphael Lemkin, who was deeply influenced not only by the Holocaust but also by the destruction of the Armenians. The Armenian Genocide was not a secondary example in the history of genocide law. It was one of the central crimes that helped give birth to the very word.
PHOTO: Armenians gather at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to commemorate the Genocide…
The news from Israel is therefore important.
On June 28, the Israeli Cabinet unanimously approved Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s proposal to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. Sa’ar called recognition “a moral and historical duty” and declared that “it is never too late to do the right thing.” This marks the first time an Israeli government has formally adopted such a position after decades of avoidance.
But the process is not complete. The Cabinet decision must still proceed to the Knesset for parliamentary approval. If adopted there, Israel will formally join the more than thirty countries that recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Turkey reacted immediately and angrily, denouncing the Israeli move as politically motivated and accusing Israel of using Armenian Genocide recognition to divert attention from criticism over Gaza. Ankara, as always, continues to reject the word genocide for the mass extermination of Armenians in 1915 and afterward.
Armenian organizations worldwide welcomed the Israeli Cabinet’s decision, while rightly stressing that recognition will not be complete until the Knesset acts. They understand that symbolic gestures matter, but formal recognition matters more.
Yet for Hellenes, Assyrians, and the other Christian peoples who suffered under the same Ottoman campaign of extermination, the question remains: will Israel recognize only the Armenian Genocide, or will it recognize the full historical truth?
The Armenian Genocide, the Hellenic Genocides, and the Assyrian Genocide were not separate moral universes. They were interconnected chapters of the same campaign against the indigenous Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire. To recognize one while ignoring the others leaves the record incomplete.
Israel has finally taken a step history demanded long ago. But if this decision is truly about morality and not political convenience, then Israel must take the next step: recognize the Hellenic Genocides and the Assyrian Genocide as well.
Justice cannot be selective. Memory cannot be rationed. Historical truth cannot be adjusted to serve diplomatic needs.
Either genocide recognition is a moral duty, or it is merely another instrument of foreign policy.
June 29, 2026, www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
I have mixed feelings on this. The current government of Israel is pursuing genocide in Gaza. Recognition of the Armenian genocide (and I presume recognition of the Greek and Assyrian genocides eventually) is welcome. The growing dilemma that I see is what is to be done in the midst of the growing rift between Israel and Turkey.
The Trump administration announced a new deal arming Turkey. Israel is opposed to this. On this particular issue, Greece and Cypriot interests coincide with Israel.
Hopefully, Netanyahu loses Israel’s elections this fall and his fascists fall from power. A new government might make it easier for Greece and Cyprus to cooperate with. Turkey is gradually getting stronger.
Iran might have won the war, but they have been damaged and this leaves Turkey to claim leadership over the Islamic world. If Turkey were to act on threats to invade the Greek islands, the islands will look like Gaza. And I doubt the usual crowds marching for Gaza and Ukraine will be marching for Greece.
We should remember the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh who have been ethnically cleansed these past several years by Azerbaijan and Turkey (with Israel helping). They have been forgotten. That could happen to Greece if Turkey attacks.
in lieu of a moderated comment to respond to this distracting article from the real truths about what the degenerate leaders of US Israel and EU/Nato are doing , and the complicity of Greek Media and Greek government of Greece and Cyprus , I recommend now running on You tube the following sites to visit …
Alexander Mercouris: A New Putin? From Diplomacy to War
Trump’s Secret Deal With Erdogan Exposed — It Changes Everything in the Middle East | Scott Ritter
Trump’s Secret Deal with Erdogan? The Truth Behind Turkey, Israel & Iran
The net outcome of the Criminal Racketeering Cartel of US Israel, Greece, Cyprus and EU alliance is so depraved and beyond anything ever seen on this planet ! Spare me the use of the “Turkey Card” everytime you want to support illegal economic sanctions , tariffs , and Military warfare on the enemies of Israel, US, and EU/Nato ruling parties , not those of Greece, Cyprus or any other countries of the world ..! The world is on fire because of the EU/Nato, Israel , and U.S alliance! Theodore , what you lack ..is the complete and unequivicol rage that every person in the world should be expressing. not silencing. Do you have no idea , what you are dealing with. which threatens your own family! These guys are attempting to provoke Nuclear war! The leaders of the EU/Nato , Israel, and U.S congress and parliaments .. are bonafide Mobsters who will kill anyone who gets in their way to own all the assets of the world ! How oldl are you ? This generation has absolutely no clue as what awaits them. despite the fact that decades of Mass Murder have been committed by this Zionist cabal of freaks ! So take a look at real people , real experts ..who cannot believe what they are watching and the response of Greek and American Media , and the populist ….
Not disagreeing with most of what you say, but Turkey has genocidal ambitions of its own, no? What. Happens if Turkey invades the Greek islands? The new Trump sales to Turkey are opposed by Israel for the wrong reasons.
This is a danger to Greece and Cyprus, no? An entirely separate issue from what you took from my initial comments.Do you think Turkey is different from Israel?
And should we not consider the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh who were genocided and have received no attention at all?
Jane, regrettably, I must agree with you.
George, it’s a sad situation.
Israel’s foreign policy is always circumstantial and hypocritical. Now they recognise the Armenian genocide of 1915, while in 2023 they helped the ethnic cleansing of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, by selling kamikaze drones to Azerbaijan!
Someone must be naive to call Israel an ally… They bought our defense industry for peanuts, they sell us vehicles that are made in our factory that they bought for peanuts, they buy extensively our land both in Greece and Cyprus, but they never committed to intervene militarily to help us if there is a war between Greece and Turkey!
The declaration included the words “by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, and providing relief to the survivors of the campaign of genocide against Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians.”
So it did mention that the Greeks were among those suffering. It included the early 1920s, when the Greeks suffered especially.
So I will take this as a positive step toward the recognition of both Greek and Armenian suffering. But those on this site who only want to deliver hatred toward Jews and/or Israel will still grumble.
An open rivalry between Greece and Israel is not to Greece’s benefit.
John, I strongly disagree with your assumption,
John,
According to you and AHEPA, we shouldn’t have any rivalry with Israel. We shouldn’t bother them while they massacre our brothers Greek Orthodox Christians in Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon and demolish Greek Orthodox churches!
It is obvious that the clergy in the GOA churches have instructions and deliberately do not speak about the suffering of the Greek Orthodox Christians in Palestine and Lebanon and that is a huge treason against our faith!
Israel’s Security Cabinet has approved a plan to establish 13 new settlements in the central occupied West Bank, a move Palestinian officials say will further fragment the territory and isolate East Jerusalem from its surrounding Palestinian communities.
Roughly 10,000 Israelis have moved to Greece since October 2023
This makes me feel anxious.
If the Zionists can start a war in Palestine 🇵🇸 Iran 🇮🇷 and Lebanon 🇱🇧 what’s to stop them from doing the same in Greece 🇬🇷 and other parts of Europe?
The problem with the Zionists in Europe is not that they would start a war but that they would exploit the countries they live in for their own interests