Israel hosted a mass rally on April 24 to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide. Over 500 people gathered outside the Turkish and U.S. embassies in Tel-Aviv, with demonstrators including public figures, representatives of Armenian community and youth movements, the spokesman of Union of Armenians of Israel Ararat Mendel Korsunsky told PanARMENIAN.Net. The city of Petah Tikva hosted the first ever protest rally, with representatives of the clergy and Armenian community participating. At the event, ex-mayoral candidate Rami Greenberg expressed condolences to the people of Armenia and urged his compatriots, survivors of Holocaust to share Armenia’s pain.

The chair of Meretz party, the Armenian Genocide recognition champion Zahava Gal-On urged Israeli parliament to voice a clear stance on the issue after lengthy silence of the government. She called recognition of the Genocide a moral obligation and slammed Israeli leadership for sacrificing the memory of the victims to their cynical interests. “Though realizing importance of diplomatic ties with Turkey, I cannot accept Israel’s excuses for non-recognition of the tragedy. We need to let Ankara know that the Genocide recognition is neither a challenge nor a provocation. It is the moral obligation of Israeli people,” Ms Gal-On stressed.