Haifa, Israel to Install Armenian Genocide Memorial Amid Turkish Response

The authorities in Haifa, Israel, have decided to install a memorial for the Armenian Genocide in one of the city's central squares. This information was reported by the Turkish opposition media outlet 'OdaTV', referencing an article by Raphael Sadi published on the Israeli site 'Ynet'.

According to the article, the author expressed concern that such a decision by the city authorities could lead to a diplomatic scandal in the recently normalized Turkish-Israeli relations.

Raphael Sadi also noted that Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Shakir Ozkay Torunlar, has written an official letter to Israel's Minister of Culture and Sports, Miki Zohar, requesting assistance in preventing the installation of the monument. Zohar has forwarded the letter to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where consultations on this matter have taken place.

However, Sadi believes that against the backdrop of ongoing protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Haifa, the city's leadership may disregard government demands to cancel the monument's installation. This is likely considering the broad autonomy that local government bodies possess in Israel.

According to the author, the initiative for the installation of the Armenian Genocide memorial comes from a former member of the Knesset from the 'Meretz' party, who has previously attempted to address the issue of the Armenian Genocide several times unsuccessfully.