Author Yossi Eli and Dalia Mazori
Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein visited this week [Aug. 24] the Armenian Genocide Museum in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. During the visit, 
he suggested that Tsitsernakaberd, the Armenian museum, cooperate with Yad Vashem.
According to a statement published on the official site of the Genocide Museum in Yerevan, Edelstein said during his visit to the museum: “I offered the Genocide Museum-Institute administration to cooperate with Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Both our nations have become victims of a horrible crime against humanity. I think the two institutions will cooperate quite effectively in terms of selection of exhibits and organization of pavilions.”
During the visit, Edelstein even laid a wreath on the memorial commemorating the victims, and said that while Israel has not passed a law recognizing the Armenian Genocide, “there is no one in Israel who denies the Armenian Holocaust.” This is a dramatic statement for a government minister — over the years, Israel has preferred not to recognize the Armenian Genocide to preserve sound diplomatic relations with Turkey.
When he was asked on a local radio show how the issue will progress, Edelstein replied: “This question is being discussed by the Israeli Knesset, there have been decisions, but there is no national law [recognizing the genocide]. I think that in Israel, when it comes to this issue of a shared history, you won’t find people who deny the Armenian genocide.”
Edelstein was referring to a discussion held last September around the time of the cancelation of a security agreement with Turkey. Over the course of the discussion in the Knesset’s Education Committee, which dealt in the Turkish massacre of the Armenians, a representative from the Foreign Affairs Ministry presented her position on the sensitive issue, saying: “This issue, in the present atmosphere, is likely to cause a deterioration in our relations with Turkey. The relations with Turkey are fragile and very sensitive right now, and there’s no reason to take them beyond the red line they are at right now. The matter should be pursued wisely. Such a decision at this stage is likely to have very difficult strategic implications.”
Yad Vashem said in response: “Yad Vashem has cooperated for years with actors and institutions who deal in the commemoration of genocides. In the past, we even hosted delegations from Rwanda, of educators and heads of commemoration institutes, who came in order to learn about Yad Vashem’s commemoration methods. If they reach out to us, we will cooperate in the same spirit.”