President Yitzhak Herzog with President Hazari Aliyev/courtesy of the Executive Office of the President of Azerbaijan
Behind the scenes at the Munich conference, Israeli officials and Jewish leaders held key talks with heads of state and government officials, in which serious concern was raised about the rise of anti-Semitism around the world following the Israeli defensive response to the events of October 7 and the war in Gaza.
The heads of the communities expressed the need to strengthen the security of the communities and the need to strengthen the protection of the Jewish institutions.
Following the special talks held by President Yitzhak Herzog with Azeri President Aliyev, the Jewish leaders raised the plight of the Jewish community in Armenia which is subject to a severe and violent anti-Semitic attack, following Israel's relations with Azerbaijan, which is perceived by the Armenians as Armenia's enemy due to the ethnic conflict in the separatist enclave, the Nagorno-War Karabakh.
The leaders of the Jewish communities requested that the governments intervene to protect the small Jewish community in Armenia that exists mainly in the capital Yerevan, where anti-Semitic elements attacked the synagogue several times.
In the talks, it was emphasized that the highest rate of increase in anti-Semitism in the past year in general, and since the attack on Simchat Torah in particular, was recorded in Russia, Belarus, Armenia and central Asian republics, as revealed in the latest report of the Ministry of Diaspora on the state of anti-Semitism in the world, which was submitted to the Government of Israel to mark International Holocaust Day and against the background of the war 'Iron swords'. In the report indicating a very worrying increase in the rates of attacks and open anti-Semitism even in 'friendly' countries.
President Yitzhak Herzog with President Hazari Aliyev/courtesy of the Executive Office of the President of Azerbaijan
From the serious report it emerged that Armenia is a "newcomer" in the rising anti-Semitism ranking since it is mentioned for the first time in the report submitted every year.
According to the report; "The anti-Semitic discourse in Armenia is largely influenced by the relations between Israel and Azerbaijan and by Israeli defense exports to it.
These relations arouse great anger in the Armenian society against the background of the intensification of the Nagorno-Karabakh war between the two countries.
However, the fact that the Armenians chose to focus specifically on Israel and not necessarily on other countries that also support Azerbaijan shows that the anti-Semitic sentiments in Armenia are much deeper and may even be influenced from the outside." The
comprehensive report also states that "Armenian social networks were quick to respond to the Hamas attack , and massively shared propaganda produced by Hamas. This activity was accompanied by harsh criticism of Israel and explicit demands to support Hamas, as well as comparisons between Israel, Azerbaijan and Nazi Germany."
The report also states that "Vladimir Poghosian, a prominent anti-Israel political commentator, known for his harsh anti-Semitic positions and who previously held official security positions, openly threatened the Jews and Israel and repeatedly called for attacks on Jews.
As a result of the violent rhetoric, the small Jewish community in Armenia has often been the victim of anti-Semitic harassment, which culminated in two attempts to set fire to the only synagogue in the country." The burning of the synagogue - note the authors of the report, was chosen among the ten most prominent incidents of anti-Semitism in the world.
President Yitzhak Herzog with President Hazari Aliyev/courtesy of the Executive Office of the President of Azerbaijan
It should be noted that the fact that the report pointed out and according to which; "the anti-Semitic attitudes in Armenia are much deeper and may even be influenced from the outside" corresponds to a study conducted about a decade ago by the Anti-Defamation League in which it was stated that 58% of the adult population in Armenia show anti-Semitic attitudes and that 72% believe Because the Jews have too much power in the world. The most negative figure in Europe revealed in the study indicated that 32% of all Armenians are not ready to accept Jews as citizens in their country.
Following the outbreak of the anti-Semitic trends that were until now hidden beneath the surface, the Israeli officials and leaders of the communities most disturbed by the rise of anti-Semitism and its manifestations held Strengthened by the encouragement of pro-Palestinian individuals and organizations and the agitating Hamas supporters who are acting even more strongly these days inspired by the war raging in Gaza, a series of meetings with state leaders, ministers and diplomats and asked for their help in protecting the small and helpless community in Armenia as well as the need to take care of the safety of the other Jewish communities in their countries.
David Berger, in collaboration with Shuba Israel
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