Armenian Genocide Memorial to Be Installed in Haifa, Israel: Turkey Responds

The authorities of Haifa, Israel, have decided to install a memorial for the Armenian Genocide in one of the city’s central squares. This is reported by the Turkish opposition media outlet OdaTV, citing an article by Raphael Sadi published on the Israeli Ynet website, according to Ermenihaber.am.

The author of the article has expressed concern regarding this decision, stating that such a move by city officials could lead to a diplomatic scandal in the newly normalized Turkish-Israeli relations.

Raphael Sadi also informed that Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Shakir Ozkan Torunlar, has sent an official letter to Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar, requesting assistance in halting the initiative for the installation of the memorial. Zohar has forwarded the letter to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where consultations on the matter have been taking place.

However, according to Sadi, against the backdrop of protests occurring in Haifa against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the city leadership may choose to ignore the government's requests to cancel the installation of the memorial. It is noted that this is likely considering the significant autonomy that local government bodies have in Israel.

The initiative to install the Armenian Genocide memorial reportedly comes from a former member of Knesset from the Meretz party, who has previously attempted to promote various initiatives regarding the issue of the Armenian Genocide.