Not too long ago, I visited Azerbaijan, where I had the honor of witnessing how the Azerbaijani people proudly waved the Israeli flag in appreciation to the Jewish state for the military, medical and other humanitarian assistance that the State of Israel provided to Azerbaijan following the Second Karabakh War. Indeed, given the strong historical friendship between the State of Israel and Azerbaijan, this should not surprise anyone.
Azerbaijan is one of the few countries that is anti-Semitism free and has enjoyed diplomatic relations with the Jewish state since the former Soviet republic obtained independence in the 1990's. Following the Abraham Accords, Azerbaijan opened up a Tourism and Trade Office in Tel Aviv, which has further strengthened the ties between Israel and Azerbaijan. And I am awaiting the day when we will finally have an operational Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel.
The strengthened relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan is pivotal to assisting Israel's strategic position in a region dominated by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. As the recent stabbing of Salman Rushdie in New York and the death threats against Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek demonstrate, Iran's tentacles spread very far. Thus, it is very important that Israel build alliances with other countries in the region who share our values and thus expand the Abraham Accords further.
July 5, 2022 marked the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan which is a government agency equivalent to Israel's Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. As a person who has visited Azerbaijan more than once and is more or less familiar with the activities of this institution, I can state with confidence that the Committee headed by Chairman Fuad Muradov can be congratulated on its successful activities in recent years. Since 2018, when the aforementioned person began to head the Committee, the Azerbaijani diaspora has gone through a tense and proud stage of reorganization, self-promotion and confirmation of its existence on an international scale, which has greatly worked to enhance the strong strategic alliance between the State of Israel and Azerbaijan.
Regardless where Azerbaijanis live, they feel great pride in their state, which has led to the establishment of 18 Azerbaijan Houses in 10 countries, 13 coordinating councils in 27 countries, Karabakh schools in Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and France, Diaspora Youth Camps, and the formation of the Youth Network of the Azerbaijani Diaspora. In the State of Israel, this has led to the Azerbaijani Diaspora hosting a number of events together with my Economic Peace Center and the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy.
This included but is not limited to a conference at the Begin Center on the Khojaly Genocide, a Newroz celebration together with an Israeli Dance Group and a Caucuses dance group at Beth Israel Congregation, an event honoring the legacy of Yemenite and Azerbaijan Jewry at the Yemenite Museum in Netanya, a celebration of Azerbaijan's Salvation Day inside a synagogue together with the For the Descendants of the Caucuses Organization, etc. As I seek to enter the Knesset, the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy continues with what I started at the Economic Peace Center and not too long ago held a conference raising awareness about the problematic nature of landmines, where I appeared as a speaker.
Of course, what the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy is doing is not exclusive to the State of Israel. The historic victory of Azerbaijani army in the Patriotic War (2020) under the leadership of Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev resulting in the liberation of Karabakh became a symbol of unity, solidarity and pride for the Azerbaijani people. The great victory marked the beginning of the activities of the Azerbaijani diaspora. Entering a new stage, the Azerbaijani diaspora is trying to preserve the unity and solidarity it demonstrated during the pandemic and the Patriotic War, and to further strengthen the victory won on the battlefield with its successful activities in the field of diaspora activities and public relations.
The cooperation between the Jewish Diaspora and the Azerbaijani Diaspora deserves the highest praise. In this respect, the official visits of the delegation headed by Committee Chairman Fuad Muradov to Israel in 2019 and 2022 should be highlighted. His recent visit which took place in June 2022 was a major testament to the strength of the Azerbaijani-Israeli relationship. Within the visit Muradov was the guest of Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, coming to learn more about the well-established Israel and Jewish-Diaspora connections, which consist of many initiatives and organizational Jewish life. Here he not only met with the heads of the ministry, but also with senior officials in the Jewish Agency, Birthright Israel and other organizations dealing with connecting Jews of the Diaspora with Israel. By the way, more than just having similar diasporic interests, Jewish and Israeli leaders visiting Azerbaijan is important to see how Azerbaijan brings the model of how Muslim countries can cooperate with Jews, while not harming other interests.
For centuries, Jews and Azerbaijanis have enjoyed living in an atmosphere of peace and friendship. Throughout history, Jews played a pivotal role in Azerbaijani society. While the rest of the world mistreated Jews and behaved in an anti-Semitic atmosphere, the Jews of Azerbaijan were treated as equal citizens who are part of a large family full of love, solidarity and brotherhood. Representatives of the Jewish community of Azerbaijan are active members of the Azerbaijani society and contribute to the development of this country, as well as the dissemination of information about Azerbaijani realities, including the development processes taking place in Azerbaijan. Thus, Azerbaijan is a reliable partner for the State of Israel and I look forward to more cooperation between the two countries in all arenas, whether military, economic, diplomatic, educational, medical, etc.
Ayoob Kara, who is running in the Nov. 1 Knesset election as part of Likud, served as minister of communications.
