Tbilisi-based Israeli House to Open Unofficial ‘Embassy’ in Armenia

Armenia and Israeli House

Andranik Arakelyan, one of three Armenians invited to the gathering, said that in the absence of an official embassy, the planned Israeli House in Yerevan will facilitate public diplomacy.

“Our two nations have a very similar history, and we share the same values,” Arakelyan said in an interview, discounting suggestions that Armenians are by nature antisemitic. “There is a small minority who think Israelis aren’t pro-Armenian because they haven’t yet recognized the Armenian Genocide. But that’s just a small minority. A much bigger majority wants to see our two states work together and cooperate.”

Georgia and Armenia are home to about 1,000 Jews each, though the Jewish presence in Georgia dates back to the fifth century B.C. That presence nearly disappeared after the Soviet collapse, with nearly all Georgian Jews emigrating to Israel. Today, Israel is home to roughly 120,000 “gruzinim,” as they’re known in Hebrew. They originally settled in Ashdod, Ashkelon, Haifa and Beersheba, though they’ve since spread throughout Israel — and a few have even returned.

Links between the two countries remain strong. In 2024, said Moshe, about 310,000 Israelis visited the Caucasus nation, and Georgia’s Black Sea resort of Batumi is now among the world’s top 10 tourist destinations for Israelis.

In fact, Israel now ranks fourth in foreign tourist arrivals to Georgia after Russia, Turkey and Armenia, with Israelis staying longer and spending more — an average $1,400 per visit — than any other nationality. It’s not uncommon to hear Hebrew in the streets, and one of Tbilisi’s top tourist attractions is the Museum of Georgian Jewish History, which chronicles 2,600 years of Jewish life in this country.

By contrast, Armenia never had a sizeable Jewish community, and very few Israelis visit, though direct flights exist between Tel Aviv and Yerevan. Before Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, maybe 200 Jews lived in the entire country — and they were served by a single synagogue. The war brought an influx of Russian Jews into Armenia, dramatically altering the community’s profile.

On October 7, Yerevan Jewish Home, an organization led by Nathaniel Trubkin, hosted a photo exhibit marking two years since the 2023 Hamas attack that sparked Israel’s invasion of Gaza. And last month, Armenia’s deputy foreign minister, Vahan Kostanyan, visited Jerusalem to meet Eden Bar-Tal, director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry. The talks focused on cooperation in agriculture, high-tech, medicine and tourism — fields where each country sees clear benefits.

Arakelyan, who has a PhD in Middle Eastern studies, currently advises the director of Yerevan’s National Polytechnical University. Among other things, he’s fluent in Arabic and studied in Syria for three months, but hasn’t yet traveled to Israel. He hopes that will soon change — especially now that Armenia and Azerbaijan have officially ended their decades-long state of war, paving the way for regional international investment.

“Israelis aren’t very visible in Armenia,” he said. “Armenians need to feel their presence, and I believe one of the first steps will be the opening of this Israeli House. People would like to get in touch with Jewish culture and learn Hebrew.”

Arakelyan said other countries have similar institutions in Yerevan. Two examples are Spain, which has a three-story building where Armenian can take Spanish language courses and learn about Spanish culture, and Russia, which has maintained a Moscow House for nearly 20 years.

“I have a vision of seeing cooperation, and I want to break through the silence between our two countries,” he said. “Honestly, I think we Armenians have much to learn from the Jewish people — and hopefully Jews can learn things from us as well.”