Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Jews in Armenia are in danger due to Israel's close ties with Azerbaijan, and they must leave the country, said Azerbaijani rabbi Zamir Isaev. The Chief Rabbi of Armenia denied these conclusions and called them “unholy policies.” Users of social networks condemned the attack on the synagogue in Yerevan and speculation on this topic.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on October 3, the only functioning synagogue in Yerevan, "Mordechai Ha-Navi", was attacked; a bottle, presumably with a Molotov cocktail, was thrown there, the windows were broken and paint was poured on the walls. The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) and Young Freedom Fighters of Armenia (YFFA) organizations took responsibility for the desecration of the synagogue. At the same time, ASALA accused Israel and Jews in general of supplying weapons to Azerbaijan. The Jewish community of Armenia, numbering about 200 people, responded by publishing a statement calling on them not to succumb to provocations.
Chief Rabbi of Armenia Gershon-Meir Burshtein condemned the attack on the synagogue in Yerevan and linked this act with the statements and policies of the rabbi of Ashkenazi Jews in Azerbaijan.
Gershon-Meir Burshtein announced “increased speculation in recent times in Armenian-Jewish relations” and recalled “an act of aggression against the monument to the victims of genocide and the Holocaust.” “If we look at everyday life in different countries, such as France, the USA, Russia, we will see that in every country there are spiritually defective groups for whom intolerance is the main possibility of some kind of manifestation,” the rabbi said on his page on Facebook.
He added that, “unfortunately, not only these groups are a boil, today people who should be spreading peace, conveying this morality to the residents and leadership of their countries, succumbing to financial temptation, are engaged in throwing mud at the people of another country and leading wicked policy towards them."
“I didn’t want to contact you, the so-called rabbi of the Georgian Jews of Azerbaijan, leave your advice for the people of Azerbaijan, for the Jewish community of this country. And you’d better take care of your Jewish affairs a little, perhaps this will lead to the fact that those lies and the provocations that we hear and read in your media will decrease. I don’t interfere in your country, I deal with the Jews in my country, and you, too, deal with your issues,” said Gershon-Meir Burshtein.
He also addressed the rabbis of European countries and noted that their distant condemnations are groundless and “do not lead to peace.” “I wish peace to the inhabitants of Ukraine, Russia, even Azerbaijan, because if you live in peace, if there is peace in your souls, you will not strive for war,” the rabbi noted. He emphasized that Armenians are showing their indignation at the policy that Israel is pursuing today regarding military supplies. “We call on Israel to reconsider its position, and we have been making this call since the second Artsakh war to this day. It is necessary to make a distinction between politics and morality. Politics is always immoral, and morality is what can keep politics within the bounds morality," concluded Gershon-Meir Burshtein.
The reason for this statement was the statement of the rabbi, director of the Baku Jewish school, chairman of the Georgian-Sephardi Jewish community Zamir Isaev in the microblog X in connection with the attack on the synagogue in Armenia. “Several weeks ago, I warned that staying in Armenia was dangerous for Jews. The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora twice in the last month raised the issue of the possibility of violence against Jews. The reason is Israel’s close relations with Azerbaijan, and also because we, the rabbis, advocate against the use of the Holocaust for propaganda purposes.
"And then, unfortunately, in the middle of the Sukkot holiday there is an attack on a synagogue in Yerevan. But this was expected: incitement to hatred provokes violence and intolerance. Desecration of a synagogue anywhere in the world is a serious crime. We reject with disgust any threat to damage the holy places of the people of Israel. “I repeat my call to the Jews in Armenia: leave, and if you need help, I will take care of it,” he said.
Some commentators considered the rabbi's statements unacceptable. "The Armenian Jews are not in danger, because the Armenian people love and respect the Jews. I have seen this with my own eyes from top to bottom and I know the Armenian Jewish community. Armenia protects its minorities. The fact that there are anti-Semites and anti-Semitism exists is no different from any other society , and this is an evil that must be fought - but how dare you use anti-Semitism as a tool of Aliyev’s propaganda!” — wrote Emily Shrader. “Pure propaganda with the aim of discrediting Armenia,” wrote user RD. “This is what we call adding fuel to the fire,” said Laurent Vartanian. "It's sad to see Jews being drawn into this conflict,"
However, some users shared the position of the Azerbaijani rabbi, declaring intolerance towards Jews in Armenia. In the comments to Burshtein’s post on Facebook, most users supported his theses. “Jews, just like Armenians, are good neighbors in any country. They chose Armenia over Israel - this already says on whose side their hearts are. And our Foreign Ministry should work better with the state of Israel,” Marina Hakobyan wrote in the comments to this video. “Thank you for the correct and unambiguous assessment,” thanked Gor Artyom.
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