Head of the Jewish community in Armenia Rima Varzhapetyan intends to address an open letter to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
According to an ADL report, Armenia is the most anti-Semitic member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with 58% of the population harboring anti-Semitic attitudes.
“The Jewish community, as a national minority, has never been maltreated in Armenia. There is a synagogue here. And the issue of Israel recognizing the Armenian Genocide is our only concern because it is a cause of debates inside Armenia. It is commonly understood, though, that Israel will not recognize the Armenian Genocide for security reasons. But it is universally recognized at the level of people’s diplomacy, and it is people’s wish that the problem be resolved,” Varzhapetyan said.
“We are indignant at the poll results. We do not know anything about the respondents. The question may have been ‘Do you love Jews?’ or ‘Why do not Jews recognize the Armenian Genocide?’”
Although the Jewish community in Armenia has officially registered 700-800 members, many more Jews are living in Armenia.
“They are mostly mixed marriages and do not consider it necessary to register their national identity. But all of them take part in different events. So we can speak of a Jewish community of several thousand people in Armenia,” Varzhapetyan said.
Jews have been living in Armenia for centuries, and although many of them have emigrated to Israel, they regularly visit Armenia, and even bring their children here.