Armenian-Israeli Friendship

Armenian-Jewish Friendship: Armenians and Jewish Students gather together in support of each other and learn about each others cultures making Israel and Armenia's relationship bigger and better enjoying both of our cultures. 700 Jews currently live in Armenia and 3,000 Armenians live in Israel.

Armenia, Israel establish direct air communication

Israeli Eshet Tours company has signed a deal with the Armenian national carrier Armavia to represent the Armenian company in Israel.
The direct flights between the states will be operated starting from April.
At the moment Armavia is conducting only one flight a week by 50-seats plane. Starting from April two flights a week will be operated until autumn, the Marker newspaper reports.
Eshet Tours plans to sell tourist packages, including tours to Armenia as well.

Turks Seek to Avert French Armenian Genocide Bill by All Means

The Turkish government is pulling out all the stops to get France to shelve a bill criminalizing denial of Turkish crimes against Armenians

By Aryeh ben Hayim

 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

 

Turkey is doing its utmost to head off a bill in the French National Assembly that would criminalize the denial of the Armenian genocide of 1915. The Armenians claim that one and a half million Armenians died as result of mass deportations by the Turkish Ottomans.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned the French that they were jeopardizing centuries of friendship in return for "small political calculations". The Turks view French president Nicolas Sarkozy as hostile to them and a major roadblock in their quest to join the European Union. The political calculations Gul referred to were apparently Sarkozy's wish to woo voters for the National Front who regard France's Muslim population with hostility.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan essentially warned the French that they were opening a Pandora's Box given French Imperial history. He recommended that the French National Assembly investigate how many people France killed during the war in Algeria or France's responsibility for the genocide in Rwanda.

The Turks are also raising the issue of free speech by claiming the right to dispute the Armenian version. A Turkish academic interviewed by the pro-government Zaman said “Neither those who say that it was genocide nor those who say that it was not should be punished”. This is a bit rich for a for a country that punishes people for insulting "Turkishness.".

The major Turkish retaliatory threat is in the economic realm. Turkey can boycott French cars in a country where French carmakers have a 20% market share. Turkey can refuse to buy Airbus planes thus impacting the French job market.

As the Turkish economy grew by 8.2% compared with France's anemic growth the Turks believe that they hold the economic upper hand and can force France to cave.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150921

Turkey has not apologized for Armenian Genocide but demands apology from others – Harvard Prof.

Turkey has not apologized for the Armenian Genocide and should not demand that others must apologize for the flotilla clash, said renowned legal expert Harvard Prof. Alan Dershowitz speaking at the annual business conference in Tel Aviv.
“Turkey has never apologized for the genocide in Armenia. Talk about chutzpah? Talking about Turkey demanding an apology from anybody?” he emphasized.
Dershowitz severely criticized Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for demanding an apology from Israel over the flotilla incident, Israeli Arutz Sheva website reports.
He also added that Israel’s record is better than that of Turkey and NATO and others when it comes to the ratio of civilians to terrorists who are killed in warfare

Yona Metzger.

"No other nation can understand the pain of the Armenians better than Jews." Yona Metzger, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel

ARMENIANS, JEWS DISCUSS ARMENIAN GENOCIDE IN MOSCOW

November 23, 2011

On November 22, Moscow hosted a meeting of Armenian
... and Jewish community members of Russia in the framework of the project
Union of Armenians and Jews in Moscow .

Discussion on the Armenian Genocide was on the meeting agenda,
Russian media report.

The meeting, held through organizational support of international
Zionist movement Or Tsian, featured presentation of video and photo
materials, discussion on the Genocide recognition by international
community including Israel.

The participants noted that both Armenia and Israel will benefit from
strengthening of bilateral ties.

During the meeting a statement was made that Or Tsian officially
recognizes the Armenian Genocide and plans to attend all events in
commemoration of the Genocide victims.

Expert: Armenian genocide recognition is a lever in Israel’s hand

The Armenian Genocide recognition issue to be discussed in October at the Israeli Ksennet is simply a card in Tel Aviv’s hands to be played as countermeasure against Turkey, experts say.

Turkey-Israel relations got tense when Israel refused to officially apologize for the deaths of Turkish citizens caused by an Israeli assault against the Mavi Marmara ship – part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Turkey responded by deporting three Israeli diplomats and freezing all military and economic relations.

Specialist in Turkish studies Arestakes Simavoryan, leading Noravank Educational-Foundation’s Center for Armenology (Armenian studies), says Israel is using the Armenian Genocide recognition issue as a political lever in the period of tensions with Turkey.

He believes that Turkey has levers to counteract against Israel, namely Palestine’s recognition and trade-economic and military-technological cooperation with Arab countries. And Israel has its levers against Turkey.

“Recently Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has stated that they would hit at Turkey’s most vulnerable [painful] spots, using the Armenian Genocide recognition and the Kurdish case,” says Simavoryan, adding that Israel is not ready yet to recognize the Armenian genocide. “By doing so Israel would get completely isolated from the region.”

Although Simavoryan does not exclude risk factors for Armenia, since it would mean that Turkey-Israel deteriorated relations would be again on the same level.

“One shouldn’t have high hopes for this little discussion, metaphorically speaking it would mean an earthquake of a 4.5-point magnitude by which Israel will try to put pressure on Turkey,” he says.