Israel marks centenary of Armenian genocide

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin hosted Sunday an official ceremony in Jerusalem to mark the 100th anniversary for the Armenian genocide, in a first of its kind gesture in Israel.

In the ceremony attended by Armenian leaders, Rivlin said that "the Armenian people were the first victims of modern mass killing." The president refrained from using the word "genocide" in his speech.

The killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire around 1915 was never acknowledged by Israel as genocide.

"We do not seek to put the blame on any specific country, but rather identify with the victims and the horrible results of the massacre," Rivlin said in broadcast remarks.

The president also stressed the obligation of the Jewish people to remember the massacre.

"Two weeks ago, we the Jewish people, commemorated Holocaust Remembrance Day. After this horrible Holocaust, commemorating the tragedy of the Armenian people is our Jewish obligation; a human and moral one," the president said.

Rivlin's failure to acknowledge the Armenian genocide angered Armenian leaders.

During the meeting, representative of the Armenian Patriarch, Archbishop Aris Shirvanian, expressed his disappointment that the State of Israel had not related to the killings of the Armenian people as "genocide."

Meanwhile, Armenia has been pushing for Turkey to acknowledge the genocide.

However, Turkish officials acknowledged the death of large numbers of Armenians, but said the overall death toll was exaggerated and the deaths occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, when Turks were also killed.

Recently, Israel's stand on the Armenian genocide has started to change after its relations with Turkey soared.

On Friday, Israel sent for the first time an official delegation of parliament members to attend the 100th anniversary ceremonies in Yerevan. Endit