Israel and Armenia: So Near Experientially, But So Far Away Geopolitically?

Introduction

Both Israel and Armenia are small states geographically with hostile neighbors: at least three out of five, including Syria, Lebanon and the Hamas-ruled Palestinian Gaza Strip in the case of the former and two out of four – Turkey and Azerbaijan – in the case of the latter. Israel is slightly larger than the U.S. state of New Jersey with a population of about 9 million,¹ while Armenia is a bit smaller than the U.S. state of Maryland with a population of roughly 3 million.² Israel has peace treaties with both Egypt and Jordan and cooperates in matters of security with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank – though Israeli settlements in that occupied territory are a major irritant in this relationship. At the same time, though, while about one-fifth of Israel’s population is ethnic Arab, Armenia’s is very homogenous, some 98% ethnic Armenian. Since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia has had friendly relations with both Georgia and Iran. Given the security concerns and historic cultural connections, for Israel and Armenia their most important political and military allies are the U.S. and Russia, respectively. Before the establishment of the present-day states of Israel and Armenia, Jews and Armenians lived largely in the Diaspora for centuries as minorities in many countries in the Middle East³ and elsewhere, but during the past century were victims of the Holocaust and a Genocide – a term disputed by Turkey – respectively, which have greatly affected the mindsets of many Jews and Armenians both in their home counties and in the Diaspora.

However, during the 1990s, Israel cooperated militarily with Turkey and in the past couple of decades has done the same with Azerbaijan; Turkey has closed its border with Armenia, while the latter is in a state of war over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally-recognized Azerbaijani territory populated by Armenians which it currently militarily occupies. The Israeli government continues to refuse to recognize the Armenian tragedy of the First World War as a genocide, even though relations with Turkey have become contentious over the last decade. Iran has threatened to destroy Israel but is an important trading partner for Armenia and offers one of two overland routes for the landlocked country. There are also ethnic Armenians who have a long history of residing in Iran as well as important communities in the Arab world, including Lebanon and Syria. At the same time, there are only very small minorities of Armenians residing primarily in Jerusalem or of Jews mostly in in Yerevan. However, there are many Jews who have immigrated to Israel from Azerbaijan (and Georgia) and still have social and economic connections with the old country. In addition, Azerbaijan is an important source of oil for Israel as well as place to gather intelligence on Iran. Thus, while Israel and Armenia (as well as Jews and Armenians) have had some common experiences historically and share somewhat similar national security concerns, the state of geopolitics has necessitated different approaches in foreign policy for these two countries and has at times created disagreements or, at the very minimum, awkward situations in bilateral relations. This article will examine the situations of Jews in Armenia and of Armenians in Israel as well as Israel-Armenia bilateral ties and the impact of respective geopolitical concerns on those relations. It is important to review and analyze those relations given Armenia’s September 2019 decision to establish an embassy in Israel sometime in 2020, though Israel remains reluctant to reciprocate.⁴ Previously, both countries have conducted ties through ambassadors stationed elsewhere or based in their respective national capitals.

The Situations of Jews in Armenia and of Armenians in Israel

While the respective populations of Jews in Armenia and of Armenians in Israel are relatively small, their situations do have some impact on Israel-Armenia relations, though for the most part, the governments of Israel and Armenia have exercised degrees of indifference toward the aforementioned minority populations. While there have been some problems, most that have...