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 [ GUEST WORDS ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=378)

#  As a Young Jewish Student, I Welcome Israel's Recognition of the Armenian Genocide

Written by Shoshannah Kalaydjian.

 ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/17/051d-176ae133.jpg)

June 29 2026

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A STUDENT’S VIEW -

***Growing up as a young Jewish student, I was taught that memory is sacred.***

Every Holocaust remembrance ceremony, every survivor's testimony, and every visit to a Holocaust museum carried the same lesson: history must never be forgotten. When truth is denied, humanity itself is diminished. "Never Again" is more than a promise to the Jewish people it is a moral obligation to stand against genocide, hatred, and historical denial wherever they occur.

That is why Israel's recognition of the Armenian Genocide is far more than a diplomatic decision. It is a moral statement whose significance extends far beyond politics.

For more than a century, the Armenian people have carried the burden of remembrance while confronting denial and historical revisionism. Between 1915 and 1923, approximately 1.5 million Armenians were systematically murdered, deported, or driven from their ancestral homeland during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Historians around the world have long recognized these atrocities as genocide.

The historical facts have never been in dispute. The real question has been whether politics would continue to outweigh historical truth.

### Today, Israel has answered that question.

As a young Jewish student, I welcome that decision not because it changes history, but because it finally acknowledges it.

For decades, many wondered why the Jewish state, founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, had not formally recognized the first genocide of the twentieth century. The answer was seldom about history. It was about diplomacy, regional security, and relations with Turkey.

Every nation has the right to protect its interests. But there comes a moment when moral leadership demands that truth rise above political convenience.

History should never be negotiated.

Truth should never depend on shifting alliances.

Justice should never have an expiration date.

As Jews, we understand that genocide does not end when the killing stops. It continues whenever memory is erased and truth is denied.

Holocaust denial seeks not only to erase the victims but also the lessons their suffering left behind. The Armenian people have endured their own century-long struggle against denial.

Their history deserves the same honesty, dignity, and respect.

Recognizing the Armenian Genocide does not diminish the Holocaust. Instead, it reinforces a universal principle: every victim of genocide deserves remembrance. Historical truth is not a competition. When we defend the truth about one genocide, we strengthen the truth about every genocide.

As a Jewish student, I have learned that genocide begins long before the killing. It begins with hatred, dehumanization, propaganda, and silence. When the killing ends, denial often becomes its final chapter.

That lesson should not belong only to Jewish history. It should guide how humanity responds whenever any people face the erasure of their history.

Some will argue that Israel's recognition comes during a period of strained relations with Turkey. Perhaps it does. But if recognizing the Armenian Genocide is morally right today, it was morally right yesterday, and it will remain morally right tomorrow.

Governments do not create historical truth. They simply decide when they are prepared to acknowledge it.

Israel's recognition sends a message far greater than diplomacy. It demonstrates that moral courage still matters and that historical truth cannot remain buried beneath political calculations. Above all, it reminds the world that acknowledging another people's suffering does not weaken our own history it strengthens our humanity.

The promise of "Never Again" was never meant to belong exclusively to the Jewish people. It was meant to become a universal promise to every nation, every generation, and every victim of hatred.

History has already rendered its verdict.

The victims have waited for more than a century. By recognizing the Armenian Genocide, Israel has chosen truth over politics.

My hope is that future generations will never again ask survivors or their descendants to wait another hundred years for justice, because truth delayed is justice denied.

History has already spoken.

**Justice has waited long enough.**

***(Shoshannah Kalaydjian** is a young Jewish student who writes about education, identity, and the challenges facing the next generation. Growing up in today’s climate, she has witnessed firsthand how rising antisemitism affects young people in classrooms and on college campuses. She is committed to sharing the perspectives of Jewish youth, amplifying student voices, and encouraging leaders to create safer, more inclusive environments for all students.)*

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