The synagogue in the community/courtesy of the Jewish community in Baku
The synagogue of the Sephardic Georgian community in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan - was packed with people last Saturday.
A festive atmosphere filled the magnificent space.
The Jews of the community gathered for an unusual purpose: to celebrate the victory of the current president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who was elected for another seven-year term.
The connection between the Jews of Azerbaijan and President Aliyev is enviable.
The president, for his part, throughout his years of office worked to flourish local Judaism, and on the other hand - the Jews praise him and thank him.
"We gathered here to celebrate another victory of the president," said the rabbi of the community, Rabbi Zamir Issev, "we have gratitude for him. He is loved by the Jews and loved by Israel."
In the corridor leading to the synagogue - Aliev's picture was emblazoned, and live flowers in red and white tones made the transition festive and flowery.
After the prayer, the crowds left the prayer hall and moved to the holy hall, where they continued the celebrations together with the best local delicacies, ham, wine and traditional Azeri foods, such as the filiaf and kotab.
The children of the community/courtesy of the Jewish community in Baku
Rabbi Issev/courtesy of the Jewish community in Baku
At the climax, as mentioned, Rabbi Issev spoke, who chose to shine a spotlight on the special relationship between the State of Israel and Azerbaijan under the leadership of the president.
"The State of Israel is in one of the most difficult times in its history. Hamas terrorists have brutally murdered the best sons and daughters of the Jewish people. And precisely now, Azerbaijan is strengthening ties with Israel," said the rabbi of the community, according to him, "while countries around the world choose to visit and attack Israel , President Aliyev is leading a rare line, of a courageous embrace of Israel and in general the Jews of the world."
The relationship between the countries did not remain in the arena of words and discourse, but recently intensified with deep economic and security foundations.
As a reminder, despite the security situation in Israel, in January of this year, Azerbaijan exported more than 523.5 thousand tons of oil to Israel.
Thus, Israel took the first place in the total oil exports of Azerbaijan in the last month about 36% of its oil exports.
The children of the community/courtesy of the Jewish community in Baku
Just a few days ago, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, there was a meeting between President Aliyev and President Yitzhak Herzog.
During the conversation, views were exchanged on cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel in various fields, the activity of the intergovernmental committee was noted and the commercial, economic, cultural and humanitarian ties were discussed in detail.
It was also emphasized that the beginning of the activity of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the State of Israel - gave impetus to the development of bilateral relations.
"Precisely here, in this holy place, in the synagogue, we want to congratulate President Aliyev, who will continue to spread light in the world. Thank you, Mr. President, for your dedication to the Jewish communities in Baku. Thanks to you, the community is flourishing in an inspiring way, in quality and quantity. Thank you," concluded the rabbi. Isaev finished his words, and the crowd clapped excitedly.
David Berger, in collaboration with Shuba Israel
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