A report published on Sunday, May 2, in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz describes in detail efforts by Israel to thwart Armenian Genocide recognition. In the article, reporter Ofer Aderet says that the Foreign Ministry of Israel enlisted intellectuals and academics, including Elie Wiesel, to botch a conference on the Holocaust and the Genocide in 1982. The Israeli government was allegedly concerned that Turkey could obstruct the safe passage of Syrian and Iranian Jews through its territory on their way to Israel, but it was also wary of comparisons between both historical events that could compromise what it saw as the uniqueness of the Holocaust.
