If the Knesset recognizes the Armenian Genocide, it will affect the local Jewish community, according to Rabbi Shneur Segal, chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish Community of Azerbaijan.
“I am writing to you on behalf of the Jews of the city and the Jewish community, with a sincere request that you hear our voice and take it into consideration before advancing in the Knesset the recognition of what is referred to as the ‘Armenian Genocide,’” he wrote Monday in a letter to letter to Likud MK Ofir Katz, the coalition chairman.
On Sunday, the cabinet voted to formally recognize the Armenian Genocide.
The Jewish community forms an inseparable part of Azerbaijani society and, for generations, has enjoyed security, respect, and full religious freedom, Segal said.
“At a time when Jews in many countries around the world are afraid to walk openly with visible Jewish symbols, here we are able to walk through the streets of Baku wearing a kippah, safely and without fear,” he wrote. “This reality demonstrates more than anything the depth of friendship and respect that the Azerbaijani people have for the Jewish people.”
Furthermore, Azerbaijan’s Jewish community is deeply connected to Israel, where most of its members have relatives.
Segal said he had felt compelled to write to the Knesset because of this deep connection between the Azerbaijani Jewish community and Israel.
Armenia-Azerbaijan dispute spans decades
The dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan is one of the longest-running conflicts in the post-Soviet world. The two countries have spent nearly 35 years fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory but historically inhabited mainly by Armenians.
What is known as the Armenian Genocide was the systematic persecution, deportation, and mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I, beginning in 1915. Most scholars estimate the death toll was anywhere from one million to 1.5 million Armenians.
Azerbaijan’s antipathy toward the recognition of this genocide stems more from modern geopolitical loyalty and regional alliances and less from historical debate.
Turkey, which is Azerbaijan’s strongest military and diplomatic ally, rejects the characterization of the 1915 events as genocide, and Azerbaijan does not wish to directly contradict Ankara’s official historical position.
Armenia is also viewed by many Azerbaijanis as the cause of much of their national trauma, especially due to the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. They therefore may view recognition as politically benefiting their adversary while harming a key ally.
Armenian Genocide is 'sensitive' to Azerbaijani people, rabbi says
Armenian Genocide is a sensitive issue for Azerbaijani, Segal said.
“We do not seek to decide historical disputes, nor do we enter into questions that are left to the research of historians,” he wrote. “However, we know very well how sensitive this issue is for the Azerbaijani people, and how much the decision taken in Israel has hurt people who see themselves as true friends of Israel and of the Jewish people.”
Segal said he did not doubt that relations between Israel and Azerbaijan were strong and stable, but he could nevertheless see the pain caused.
“Many members of the Jewish community living here also feel discomfort regarding this decision,” he wrote. “We ask you, as members of the Knesset and as leaders of the public in Israel, to also listen to the voice of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan, and to do everything in your power not to advance recognition of this decision in the Knesset.”
“We believe that listening to our voice will be an expression of responsibility, sensitivity, gratitude, and commitment to continuing to strengthen the deep friendship between Israel and the Republic of Azerbaijan,” Segal wrote.