With a view of Israel’s current security situation, many Jewish communities around the world have come together to pray for the welfare and security of the citizens of Israel.
The display of Jewish devotion to Israel has even reached Azerbaijan, a country which shares a border with Iran. Last night, members of the Azerbejaini Jewish communities gathered for a moving prayer service.
In the synagogue hall of the Georgian Sephardic community in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, a speech was delivered by Rabbi Zamir Isayev, the president and chief rabbi of the community. He said that “at this difficult time for the Jewish nation, everyone’s hearts lie with Israel.”
He continued saying that despite Azerbaijan being a Shi’ite Muslim country, “our country stands on the right side of history…the Jewish community is fully supported by both the authorities and the citizens of Azerbaijan.”
Later in his speech, he referred to the axis of evil emerging in the parts of the world governed by Iran, saying that “only recently a massive arms deal between Iran and Armenia and worth half a billion dollars, was publicized, which includes establishing terror bases. Iran wants to recruit other countries to join an axis of evil, which it seeks to maintain and strengthen.
He further added that “This axis is testimony that even in this day and age, there are those who wish for the terrible holocaust we endured to not remain a thing of the past. We made a promise that we would never forget and that never again would we allow it to happen – but in practice, many countries are exposing the evil and anti-Semitism they still harbour.”
Following his address, he delivered an emotional reading of the prayer, Acheinu kol beit Yisrael, hanetunim b’tzara ub’shivya [Our brothers, the whole house of Israel, who are given over to trouble and captivity], and blessed the IDF forces.
This article was written in cooperation with Shuva Israel