Erdoğan accused Israel of advancing recognition of the Armenian genocide merely to distract attention from its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. He then claimed that throughout its history, Turkey had represented compassion, justice and goodness—and had never committed genocide, massacres, oppression or colonialism.

The historical record tells a dramatically different story.

Ottoman forces carried out repeated massacres, deportations and campaigns of religious and ethnic persecution. These included the destruction of Christian communities during the Greek War of Independence, the Hamidian massacres of Armenians and Assyrians, the Adana massacre and the mass killing and enslavement of civilians across Greek islands and Balkan territories.