The upcoming Conference of European Rabbis in Azerbaijan has been cancelled due to ‘safety concerns’. The conference was intended to cover religious freedom, anti-semitism, and the Abraham Accords.
The conference’s cancellation was reported on by the Israeli media outlet Jerusalem Post, which shared a statement on Monday issued by European rabbis expressing regret over the cancellation. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has not commented on the cancellation of the event.
Despite the cancellation, the conference organisers thanked the Azerbaijani government ‘for its continued support’ and apologised ‘for any inconvenience caused’.
The Azerbaijani government has long highlighted the existence of its small Jewish community, numbering just a few thousand, as a symbol of the country’s ability for interreligious cooperation. In Soviet times, some 40,000 Jews lived in Azerbaijan.
During the Second Nagorno Karabakh War, chief Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jews of Azerbaijan, Shneor Segal, visited Ganja, the second largest city in Azerbaijan.
According to pro-government Imzainfo, the Jewish community of Ganja told Rabbi Segal at the time to appeal to the Jews of Israel to pray for them, for the safety of the Jewish community, and for all civilians.
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that Iran’s Quds Force, a branch of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard, reportedly hired a figure from the Georgian criminal underworld to carry out an ultimately unsuccessful hit on Rabbi Segal.
In addition, Azerbaijan maintains close ties with Israel, supplying the country with energy while it receives modern weapons in return.
Even as Israel is facing growing international condemnation over the conduct of its war in Gaza, Azerbaijan has further deepened ties, particularly with the Azerbaijan state-run oil company (SOCAR).
In June, SOCAR bought a 10% stake in Tamar, one of Israel’s biggest gas fields, 90 kilometres from Haifa, Israel.
This deal is worth an estimated $1.25 billion for SOCAR.
Nate Ostiller
