There has never been any oppression for religious views or belief in Azerbaijan, the director of the Baku Jewish School, the chairman of the Azerbaijani-Georgian Jewish community, Rabbi Zamir Isayev, told Report.
Commenting on the decision of the US State Department to include Azerbaijan in the religious freedom watchlist, the rabbi called it a manifestation of absurdity: “We believe that this is another manifestation of double standards in relation to Azerbaijan. All attempts to blame manifestations of religious intolerance are simply ridiculous and groundless.”
He noted that neither in the past nor in the present the Jewish community has ever encountered anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan: “The Jewish community of Azerbaijan is thriving. It has never encountered anti-Semitism. We see only support from the state towards us.”
Zamir Isayev reminded that in Jewish schools in Azerbaijan they study the culture, history and traditions of the Jewish people as part of the state education program.
"This shows the state’s attitude towards us, that it cares not only about the present, but also about the future of our community," he said, adding that services are held in the country’s synagogues without any obstacles.
He noted that even despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Jewish community doesn’t feel any oppression even at the everyday level in Azerbaijan, where predominantly Muslims live: “Good neighborly and fraternal relations here are not interrupted and continue no matter what.”
