Armenian Activist Slams Israel’s Armenian Genocide Recognition as Political Strategy, Says Serj Tankian
July 2, 2026
System Of A Down frontman and prominent Armenian-American activist Serj Tankian is pulling zero punches. In a blistering statement, Tankian completely condemned the political class for weaponizing the historical trauma of the Armenian Genocide, calling out the gross opportunism of using a profound human tragedy as a geopolitical bargaining chip.
For decades, the recognition of the 1915 atrocities has been cynically delayed, traded, and instrumentalized by various governments to exert pressure on geopolitical rivals. Tankian lays bare the deep insult felt by the Armenian community when states suddenly discover their moral conscience only when it aligns with their immediate foreign policy agendas.
“Using our genocide for political advantage is the worst thing they could have done to Armenians.”
True justice and remembrance cannot coexist with political games. It’s time to stop using historical slaughter as a tactical shield.
No more tiptoeing around the establishment’s talking points. True solidarity means calling out exploitation wherever it stands.
Source: @vocalpolitics
#SerjTankian #SystemOfADown #ArmenianGenocide
English Script:
Serj Tankian: Fuck you. Using our history, our genocide, our pain to their political advantage. For many years, Israel’s government used AIPACto lobby the US Congress to, not recognize the Armenian Genocide to prevent Congress from recognizing the Armenian Genocide due to their relationship with Turkey, their intelligence sharing with Turkey, etc.. Today, the Netanyahu cabinet, decided to recognize the Armenian genocide, of 1915, a genocide that led to Hitler thinking that he could do what he could do to the Jews in the 1930s and 40s. The fact that this government is already committing genocide in Gaza and Lebanon, decided to recognize the genocide of my grandparents is a worst fucking thing that they could have done to Armenians by using our history, our genocide, our pain, to their political advantage. Fuck you.
