Israeli-Armenian Activist Sees Hope after Years of Mistrust

The story of Kahvedjian is particularly painful. Born in Urfa, in what is now Turkey, he survived the tragic events of 1915 and at the age of 5, was placed in an orphanage in Nazareth. At age 14, he began his photography career, taking ownership of Jerusalem’s Hanania Studio and rebranding it as Elia Photo-Service. He served as a military photographer for the British Army during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence and spent decades documenting the city’s social and cultural life.

Today, Kahvedjian’s descendants still run the shop in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter, as well as a small museum and archive that tells his life story.

Israeli Solidarity an Example for Armenians?

Sadly, as Kozliner said, a recent flurry of incidents by ultra-Orthodox Jews against Christians in Jerusalem’s Old City — including verbal abuse and spitting on priests — has soured relations between the two countries.

“These Jewish extremists attack everything non-Jewish,” she explained. “For example, one week ago, these same extremists fought IDF soldiers in the West Bank. These people do not represent Israeli attitudes towards Armenians at all. Yes, it’s true some people in Armenia are against Israel, but the idea that Armenians are antisemitic is pure Azerbaijani propaganda.”

Kozliner, whose parents still live in Yerevan, has thousands of followers on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. A community activist who often organizes rallies and protests, she said about 100 people showed up at this year’s April 24 genocide memorial commemoration in Haifa.

“Most of my followers are Armenians,” said Kozliner, who’s fluent in Armenian, Russian, English and Hebrew. “They get their news about events in Israel from Armenian news sources, and they don’t always know what’s going on. So my updates give them a real picture of what’s happening here.”

For example, Kozliner gave her readers a running account of the recent Israel-Iran War and the frightening experience of running day and night to bomb shelters; on the war’s third day, an Iranian ballistic missile destroyed a Bat Yam apartment building only a few blocks from her own residence, killing 12 people.

“Armenians often ask me what’s the secret of the Jewish state and its success. I tell them to look at how Israelis take care of each other—especially during this terrible situation,” she said, adding that in the aftermath of Tehran’s response to Israel’s pre-emptive strike on the Iranian nuclear weapons program, “I received hundreds of messages from Armenians around the world asking about us. It was very touching.”

Next Priority: An Israeli Embassy in Yerevan

Notably, Kozliner said the country of her birth continues to enjoy warm ties with Tehran; after all, Iran is home to as many as half a million people of Armenian origin. In addition, she said, “you cannot blame Armenia for its relationship with Iran, which was the only country that helped them during their war with Azerbaijan. Not even Russia helped.”

Conversely, Israel engages in billions of dollars of trade with Azerbaijan, including the supply of drones and missiles that in 2020 helped it wrest control of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The 44-day war led to charges of ethnic cleansing and the collapse of the so-called Republic of Artsakh, as well as anti-government protests in Armenia itself.

In March 2023, Azerbaijan inaugurated an embassy in Tel Aviv, even though the two countries had enjoyed diplomatic relations for more than 30 years. Israel has maintained an embassy in Baku for years, and Jewish life in the predominantly Muslim oil-producing republic is thriving. Yet relations with Armenia remain stagnant.

“My dream is to improve relations between Jews and Armenians,” said Kozliner. “I think the Armenians have so much to learn from Jewish people. Both of us have suffered from terrible events in the last century, yet unfortunately the Armenian genocide has been forgotten.”

As rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan slowly work toward an agreement that will end the perennial state of war between the two countries, Akopian — who speaks fluent Hebrew — hopes to see a dramatic improvement in ties with the Jewish state. He’d also like to see, at last, an official Israeli recognition of the Armenian genocide with no strings attached.

“We are waiting for the opening of an Israeli embassy in Armenia because, without that, it’s very difficult to see any major progress, especially since Israel recently opened embassies in two other post-Soviet republics, Moldova and Estonia,” said Akopian. “I want to believe that Armenia will be third on that list.”

He added: “We know what happened between Israel and Azerbaijan, and we’re not enthusiastic about that. The Azeris say they won the war thanks to the military support they got from Israel, and Israel was the only country that kept supplying Azerbaijan with arms during the war itself. But we’re willing to turn the page. We still believe we can move forward.”

About the Author

Miami native Larry Luxner, a veteran journalist and photographer, has reported from more than 100 countries in Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia for a variety of news outlets. He lived for many years in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Washington, D.C., area before relocating to Israel in January 2017.