Rima Varzhapetyan-Feller (Armenian: Ռիմա Վարժապետյան-Ֆելլեր, Russian: Римма Варжапетян-Феллер) is an Armenian Jewish woman who has been the president of the Jewish Community of Armenia since 1996,[1][2] a community which currently stands at 1,000 people, despite Jews being present in Armenia since the days of Tigranes the Great.[3] She is also a member of the European Jewish Parliament, representing Armenia.
Rima Varzhapetyan-Feller
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| Born |
Rima Varzhapetyan
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| Nationality |  Armenian |
| Occupation | Mechanical engineer |
| Known for | President of the Jewish Community of Armenia |
She has campaigned for the recognition of the Armenian genocide,[4][5] especially by Israel, even sending an open letter to the Knesset in 2012.[6]
Organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and some media outlets in the United States[7] have reported that Armenia is probably the most anti-Semitic member of the former USSR countries, with over half of the population harboring anti-Semitic attitudes, according to some sources. Varzhapetyan has refuted those sources.[8]
On Apr. 28, 2015, Arye Gut, an Israeli of Azerbaijani origin, accused Varzhapetyan of not denouncing the publication of antisemitic books in Armenia and the glorification[9]ofDrastamat Kanayan, leader of the Armenian Legion and collaborator with Nazi Germany during World War II. This letter prompted a response sent to the Jewish Journal by Varzhapetyan[10] and moreover, Varzhapetyan has come against Israeli and U.S. Jewish newspapers[11][12] where these anti-Armenian articles have been published, as well as criticizing the leadership of Azerbaijan[13] for whitewashing the image of Azerbaijan in the eyes of Israel and the U.S. Jewish community.[14]
Varzhapetyan-Feller is a mechanical engineer,[15] married and has two sons.[16]