By Tamara Zieve
JERUSALEM (Jerusalem Post) — The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation expressed “deep disappointment” in the Knesset’s rejection of a bill to recognize the Armenian Genocide earlier this month.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said that while Israel had sent a parliamentary delegation to the 100th anniversary event in Yerevan, it will not take an official stance on the matter, “in light of its complexity and diplomatic repercussions, and because it has a clear political connection.”
The Raoul Wallenberg Foundation sent a letter on Thursday, February 22, to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, with a copy to Hotovely and Yesh Atid leader Knesset Member Yair Lapid, who sponsored the bill.
Edelstein called on the government in 2015 to change its stance, and in 2016 the Knesset Education Committee recognized the genocide.