Dr. Israel Charny, pioneering genocide studies scholar, passes away

Dr. Israel Charny, born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1931, passed away in Israel on December 15, 2024.

He was a psychologist and Genocide scholar. He was the editor of two-volume Encyclopedia of Genocide and executive director of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide in Jerusalem.

Charny received his A.B. in Psychology with Distinction from Temple University in 1952, and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Rochester in 1957.

He co-founded the International Association of Genocide Scholars in 1994. From 2005 to 2007, he was Vice President and then President of the organization.

Charny, a clinical psychologist and practicing psychotherapist, was Professor of Psychology and Family Therapy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he was the Founder and first Director of the Program for Advanced Studies in Integrative Psychotherapy. He was the founding and first president of the Israel Association of Family Therapy and later president of the International Family Therapy Association.

He is best known for his active stance against denial of the Armenian genocide, and has written numerous articles and given lectures on the subjects of genocide and genocide denial. He is most noted for his comparison of Armenian genocide denial to Holocaust denial, citing that they both have similar techniques and psychological motivation.

Dr. Charny was honored with the Armenian Presidential Medal.