Yerevan/Mediamax/. Israeli Armenian community is outraged about President Reuven Rivlin’s attempt to equalize the Armenian Genocide and Khojaly events during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

A few days ago, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin addressed a speech at the UN General Assembly  touching upon 1915 Armenian Genocide:

“In 1915, the days of the Armenian Genocide, Avshalom Feinberg of the NILI underground [a Jewish spy network in Ottoman Palestine] wrote the following: ‘My teeth have been worn away by anger, who is next? I have walked on sacred and holy ground, on the road to Jerusalem, and asked myself if it is this time that we live in -1915 – or in the days of Titus or Nebuchadnezzar?”, said the Israeli President.

He also said:

“Is our struggle, the struggle of this Assembly, against genocide, effective enough? Was it effective enough then in Bosnia? Was it effective in preventing the killing in Khojaly?''

Talking to Mediamax, Head of Armenian Cause National Committee of Jerusalem Georgette Avagian said she was surprised that one of the pioneers of Armenian Genocide recognition in Israel, Reuven Rivlin, didn't call the 1915 events “Armenian Genocide” directly. Georgette Avagian also noted that previously, as a President of Knesset, Rivlin had repeatedly blocked Azerbaijani’s efforts to submit a draft law on Khojaly to the Knesset.

“It was Rivlin, as a Knesset Spokesman, that didn't allow such a draft law to be submitted to the parliament. And now I am very much surprised by the way he speaks about the events. It's obvious that his stance has been influenced by the political interests and intentions with Azerbaijan”, said Georgette Avagian.

She said that the Armenian Cause National Committee informed the President about being outraged with the speech. The President’s Office responded to Georgette Avagian that “the President will take a big step toward Armenians.