An Israeli parliamentary vote scheduled for Tuesday on recognizing the the Armenian Genocide has been cancelled because of government opposition, the lawmaker behind the initiative said, AFP reports.
Last month the Knesset had approved a motion penned by Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing opposition Meretz party to hold a plenary debate and vote on “recognizing the Armenian genocide”.
Turkey had expressed its opposition and to try to ensure the support of the governing coalition for her motion, Zandberg agreed to postpone the vote until after Sunday’s Turkish elections.
On Monday, it became clear that the coalition was still opposed to Zandberg’s initiative, even after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reelection.
“Despite the promises and delays and despite the Turkish elections being behind us, the government and coalition are refusing to recognize the Armenian genocide,” Zandberg said on Twitter late Monday.
למרות ההבטחות, למרות הדחיות ולמרות שהבחירות בטורקיה עברו, הממשלה והקואליציה מסרבות להכיר ברצח העם הארמני. אי לכך ובלב כבד אני נאלצת שלא לקיים את ההצבעה שנועדה למחר. הכרה ברצח העם היא עניין של צדק הסטורי ומוסרי בסיסי שמדינת היהודית אמורה היתה להיות הראשונה להכיר בו
— tamar zandberg (@tamarzandberg) June 25, 2018
“I am therefore forced to cancel the vote,” she said.
“Recognizing the Armenian genocide is a matter of basic historical justice and morals, which the Jewish state should have been the first to recognize,” Zandberg said.
