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  • BAKU: Azeri Jews welcome US report on anti-Semitism

    Azeri Jews welcome US report on anti-Semitism

    Ekho, Baku
    7 Jan 05

    The leaders of Azerbaijan's Jewish communities have welcomed a US
    State Department report on anti-Semitism. In their interview with the
    Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho, they said there were no ethnic problems or
    anti-Semitism in the country. In turn, Ekho said the US State
    Department report proves once again that there is a tolerant attitude
    to other religions and ethnic groups in the country. The daily
    compared the situation in Azerbaijan with anti-Semitic sentiments in
    Armenia. The following is the text of R. Orucov report by Azerbaijani
    newspaper Ekho on 7 January headlined "There are no instances of
    anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan" and subheaded "This is what the US State
    Department report said. The situation is the opposite in
    Armenia". Subheadings have been inserted editorially:

    The US State Department has unveiled a report on cases of
    anti-Semitism in the countries which have Jewish communities. The
    following is an excerpt from the document which is relevant to
    Azerbaijan.

    The community of mountain Jews has resided in the country for 2,700
    years, while the Ashkenazi Jews (the community of European Jews) have
    been present in Azerbaijan for more than 100 years.

    Cases of prejudice and discrimination against Jews in the country have
    been very limited, and in the few instances of anti-Semitic activity,
    the government has been quick to respond. There was only one reported
    incident during the period covered by this report. In April, the
    Lubavitch community received an anonymous letter containing threats
    during the observance of Passover. The police and military responded
    by blocking and securing Jewish places of worship to ensure the
    peaceful observance of Passover. The subsequent investigation revealed
    that the letter had been written by a member of a small radical
    Islamic group, which resulted in his conviction and imprisonment.

    The government does not condone or tolerate the persecution of Jews by
    any party. No laws in Azerbaijan specifically address anti-Semitism.

    Comparison with Armenia

    As we can see, Azerbaijan has proved once again its tolerant attitude
    to other religions and ethnic groups. It is noteworthy that this
    assessment does not come from the local bureaucracy - the report has
    been prepared by US government officials on the basis of monitoring
    conducted by Jewish unions in the countries where they live. Then it
    is even more interesting to take a look at the assessment which our
    neighbouring country-aggressor has received. It is known that as a
    result of the nationalist policy conducted by Armenia's ruling
    circles, over the years of its independence the country has in effect
    turned into a mono-ethnic state. Yet there is still a small Jewish
    community consisting mainly of women who once married Armenians.

    Armenia:

    The Jewish community reported several incidents of verbal harassment
    during this period. The director of ALM TV frequently made
    anti-Semitic remarks on the air, and the Union of Armenian Aryans, a
    small ultranationalist group, called for the country to be "cleansed"
    of Jews and Yezidis.

    On 17 September, offices of the Jewish community in Yerevan received a
    message that vandals had damaged the local memorial to the victims of
    the Holocaust. Several photographs of the memorial were taken and the
    vandalism was immediately reported to the local police, the Ministry
    of Religious Affairs [presumably referring to the State Council on
    Religious Affairs] and the government-owned television channel. A
    television crew arrived at the site together with an official from the
    Jewish community in Yerevan and to their surprise discovered that the
    memorial had been wiped clean, apparently by the park guard.

    In May, Jewish groups complained to several government authorities
    about the distribution and importation of hate literature. Each
    government agency they contacted responded that the literature was in
    apparent violation of the law "On distributing literature inflaming
    national hatred" and suggested they try to redress the situation
    through pressing formal charges with the Prosecutor-General's
    Office. Jewish leaders have not yet decided whether to press charges.

    Jewish leader agrees with US report

    On the whole, the head of the community of mountain Jews, Semen
    Ikhiilov, agreed with the American report on Azerbaijan: "Throughout
    the independence period, there have been only few instances of
    anti-Semitism. They were all cases of vandalism. Jewish gravestones
    were damaged. When I learnt about that, I immediately reported this to
    Heydar Aliyev who was the president then. He took measures straight
    away, the state found some of the criminals and the gravestones were
    restored. Over the past few years, I cannot remember a single case of
    anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan. As for the increased protection of the
    places of worship, I would not say that this is being done
    purposefully. It is always done on religious holidays. The Interior
    Ministry has special dates when they reinforce the guard outside the
    synagogues and places of worship, and patrol cars are on watch at
    nights."

    Information about the duration of the residence of the mountain Jews
    in Azerbaijan is also accurate. "Incidentally, around 95 per cent of
    all Jews in Azerbaijan are mountain Jews," Ikhiilov said.

    Anti-Semitism in Armenia

    As for the situation with anti-Semitism in Armenia, he accepts that
    everything in the report may be true. "I even know the chairman of
    their community, Rimma Vardzhapetyan. And there is one rabbi in
    Armenia. There is always some bickering going on between them and they
    always seem unable to divide something. Various anti-Semitic attacks
    may take place in Armenia. Everything is possible there because the
    Armenians are unable to stay calm. Had they been able to live calmly
    and in peace, they would still be living in peace with their
    neighbour, Azerbaijan, which had provided them with shelter for many
    years on the land of Karabakh. And they lived here better than anyone
    else. We must remember that most of the Armenians who lived in
    Azerbaijan occupied high posts - in the city committees [of the
    Communist Party], in the Council of Ministers and in the central
    committee. They had the best apartments in Baku. What else did they
    want? Judging from this experience, I can accept that what the
    Americans report may be true.

    "On the contrary, there is no anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan, and nothing
    like that is expected here. According to my information, there are
    currently about 60 Jews in Armenia. They are all women who married
    Armenians. Vardzhapetyan's husband works in the Armenian presidential
    administration. Therefore, she always protects Armenian interests at
    international forums. I once told her: 'You are a Jew. How can you
    protect the interests of an aggressor? She replied 'Why do you call us
    aggressors?'"

    In turn, Gennadiy Zelmanovich, head of the community of the Ashkenazi
    Jews, confirmed to Ekho newspaper that "the Lubavitch community
    received an anonymous letter in early April, on the eve of Passover,
    which said that 'you will be punished for killing our sheikh'. The
    police and the National Security Ministry examined the letter and took
    all the necessary measures. I do not think that this incident was
    worth mentioning in the State Department report."

    The number of Jews in Armenia

    Touching on Armenia, Zelmanovich said that some 100 Jews are living
    there. "According to the World Jewish Congress, there were officially
    120 Jews in Armenia in 2001. On the other hand, the worldwide Jewish
    agency Sokhnut reports that each year 100 Jews from Armenia go to
    Israel for permanent residency. Those are people whose mother, father
    or grandfather were Jews. This concerns only Israel. I do not have any
    information about how many Jews go to Germany or the USA. At various
    Jewish congresses and meetings, I have met Vardzhapetyan and she
    always states that there are 800 real Jews in Armenia. I have
    repeatedly asked her how the figure can remain the same when at least
    100 Jews leave the country every year. She says 'we will always have
    800 Jews'.

    "We are both members of the General Council of the Eurasian Jewish
    Congress. And all Jews can see every year at the sessions that there
    is no anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan with its 30,000-strong Jewish
    community, whereas anti-Semitism is continuing in Armenia where some
    100 Jews remain.

    "Vardzhapetyan herself explains the problems of Armenian Jews by
    Israel's unwillingness to recognize the 'Armenian genocide'. When I
    speak, I always state that Jews in Azerbaijan have no ethnic problems
    and, as fully-fledged citizens, our only problem is the continuing
    occupation of part of our territory by Armenia. Our children also
    serve in the army and this means we can never rule out that we may
    lose them since Armenia and Azerbaijan are at war."
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