Azerbaijan Community Presses On Following Reports of Plot

Following a report in local and international media regarding the arrest of two Azerbaijani citizens who were allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate two Jewish educators and the Israeli ambassador in Baku, the Federation of Jewish Communities of the Former Soviet Union announced that educational activities were continuing in the capital.

News reports indicated that three men were charged with weapons smuggling as part of a larger plot against a teacher and a rabbi at the Ohr Avner Chabad day school in Baku and against Israeli Ambassador Michael Lotem. Israel subsequently issued a travel warning for the Central Asian country.

“All community activities [in Baku] are continuing with full strength and with full trust in the Almighty,” said the FJC statement, adding that the community “appreciated the effectiveness of the local security forces that provide for the peacefulness and safety of community life.”

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According to the statement, the Jewish community in Baku had no information beyond what the local media reported. It pointed out that the Chabad-Lubavitch run school and community center in Baku opened in 2010 during an inauguration presided over by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“The Jewish education center in Baku was established on land donated by the president and his wife,” said the statement. “Ours is a model of peaceful coexistence between the local population and the Jewish community, of a mutual respect that has characterized life in Azerbaijan for centuries.”

Situated on a campus of 15 acres in the heart of the capital, the 4,200-square meter Ohr Avner Chabad complex serves a student population of approximately 450 pupils.

A moderate Muslim nation bordering Iran, Azerbaijan was among the first of the former Soviet republics to pursue diplomatic relations with Israel. At the Ohr Avner complex’s opening ceremony, Aliyev noted his country’s long Jewish history and praised the 12,000-strong minority community.

“For generations, they have shown how well they get along with other people,” said Aliyev. “These children are proud of the fact that they are Jews, and the fact that they are citizens of Azerbaijan.

“We call on all other nations to treat minorities like we do,” he added, “with respect.”