Netanyahu offers personal recognition of 1915 Sayfo Genocide, absent official recognition by State of Israel

TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally acknowledged the genocide of the Syriacs (Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans), Armenians, and Greeks during an interview with PBD Podcast host Patrick Bet-David, who asked why Israel has yet to officially recognize the 1915 genocide.

Bet-David, who comes from a mixed Assyrian-Armenian family from Iran, pressed Netanyahu on why Israel, founded in 1948, has not formally recognized the Sayfo Genocide while many other countries have and while Holocaust denial is punishable in several nations. He framed the issue as one of moral responsibility. Netanyahu responded, “I just did. Here you go.”

It remains unclear whether Netanyahu’s personal acknowledgment will translate into government policy or legislation. Although resolutions addressing the genocide have been submitted and passed by committees in the Knesset in the past, no formal law recognizing the Sayfo has ever been adopted.

The question of why neither the Knesset, nor the Israeli government, has officially recognized the genocide remains open. Analysts suggest several possible reasons, ranging from geopolitical considerations to economic interests. Armenia, for example, offers little strategic or economic incentive to Israel, while recognition could complicate Israel’s ties with Turkey and other regional players.

The issue is not one of insufficient evidence. Ample documentation exists, including the work of Israeli scholars Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi in their 2019 book The Thirty-Year Genocide: Turkey’s Destruction of Its Christian Minorities, 1894–1924.

Ultimately, many argue that it is a moral obligation for Israel’s leaders to act as “tellers of truth” and formally recognize the 1915 Sayfo Genocide of Syriacs (Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans), Armenians, and Greeks through official legislation.