Israel's recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide has ended decades of caution over one of the world's most politically sensitive historical events. The cabinet decision, announced last week and still awaiting parliamentary ratification, has also prompted questions over whether it is driven more by current regional politics than by historical recognition.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who proposed the measure, called the recognition a "moral and historical duty", saying Israel, "as a Jewish state" – built on memories of the genocide of its own people during the Second World War – "had to reject denial and distortion of the historical record".
