Azerbaijani-Israel friendship blossoming amidst regional tensions Analysis by Rachel Avraham

As Iran and its proxies constantly threaten Israel and Azerbaijan, both countries are increasingly becoming close to each other, journalist Rachel Avraham says in her article published on i24.news.tv portal.

Caliber.Az reprints the article.

After Azerbaijan opened up its new embassy in Tel Aviv, the Azerbaijani-Israeli friendship is growing to new heights. As Iran and its proxies constantly threaten Israel and Azerbaijan, both countries are increasingly becoming close to each other, thus understanding how much this relationship is of pivotal importance. 

Michael Oren, who served as an Israeli Deputy Minister and Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, told us, “Azerbaijan is a very important ally of the State of Israel. It is important for several reasons. One is because of its robust economy. Second, because of its strategic location. And lastly, because it is a Shia nation. They defy the Iranian regime’s claim that Shia Islam must be an enemy of Israel.”

Indeed, as Europe faces an energy crisis due to the Ukraine war cutting off supplies of Russian oil and international sanctions barring access to Iranian oil, Azerbaijan serves as a viable solution to Europe’s energy crisis. Already, Azerbaijan supplies the State of Israel with 40% of its oil supply and the Caucuses nation is increasingly assisting other countries who have fallen on difficult times due to the energy crisis.

Aside from that, Azerbaijan is also a vibrant country, which granted women the right to vote even before the United States did so, and treats the Jewish community with dignity and respect.

Oren added, “Azerbaijan respects minority rights. I was sent to Azerbaijan as an observer for its municipal elections in the past, which were conducted very fairly. I think that more should be done to enhance the friendship between Israel and Azerbaijan including strategic cooperation, intelligence cooperation, more exchange of tourists, and more student exchanges should take place between both countries.”

In a special event marking Heydar Aliyev’s 100th birthday at Azerbaijan’s Tourism Office, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Mukhtar Mammadov noted how Azerbaijan’s national leader contributed towards the present Israeli-Azerbaijani relationship, “it is said that difficult times call for smart, courageous, visionary leaders. This might be said about Heydar Aliyev. He had the chance to lead Azerbaijan twice, once during the Soviet period and then in 1993. During both periods, our country was facing difficult times. He was not afraid of the situation back then. He raised his voice and people followed his lead.”

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador Mammadov told us, “in the beginning of the road, he had a vision and saw the future of Azerbaijan-Israel relations. Heydar Aliyev received the first credentials of the Israeli Ambassador in Baku. He spoke with Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, Benjamin Netanyahu and saw the future. He knew that Azerbaijani-Jewish relations were more than 2,000 years old. He saw parallels between both countries and sought to develop those ties.”

Mammadov noted, “And now, on his 100th birthday, we have opened an embassy in Tel Aviv, which will further develop our ties in agriculture, security, tourism, etc. Many Israelis enjoy visiting Azerbaijan and we invite more to come. We cooperated on energy and trade for many years. Both countries have potential and can share it. We also cooperate on medicine. There are a lot of things to do and we are on the right track moving ahead.”

Mammadov stressed that he sees many parallels between Azerbaijani and Israeli society, “what David Ben-Gurion did for Israel with the Declaration of Independence and the revival of the country, Heydar Aliyev also did for Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev attended the dedication of the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel in Baku.”

The ambassador noted how both Israel and Azerbaijan have managed to overcome very trying times, “Heydar Aliyev managed to build a very strong partnership with Israel. Azerbaijan is now standing very proudly among the international community. We now move to the next page in our friendship.”  

“Today, 114 Israeli companies make a significant contribution to Azerbaijan’s economy. Israeli companies are building dairy farms, so that we get the latest technologies. Solar panels and wind turbines, as well as drip irrigation systems, are widely used in the wheat fields, which Azerbaijan cultivates. Azerbaijan is planning to export wheat to Israel by 2025, which will get help with the latest Israeli agri-tech technology," stressed Azerbaijani activist Rafael Nabizade.

“The opening of an embassy is not the end of the process, but merely the beginning of a new stage," added Nabizade, "a stage where our relations are not only a friendship between our leaders and partnerships on a strategic level, but we are going to see more and more between Israel and Azerbaijan in trade, culture, education, academic exchanges, intelligence, cyber and agriculture."

"Israel has taken 50 Azerbaijani students for a one-year training at the Arava Institute during which they will learn practical and theoretical studies and then they will come back to Azerbaijan and contribute their knowledge to the Azerbaijani agricultural sector. This year we are going to send the same amount of people, maybe even more," claimed Nabizade.

According to him, there has also been a lot of cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan in the medical arena, “we’ve seen a lot of delegations in the last two years of hospitals and clinics from Israel because there is an interest to develop cooperation in the health field and some of it is already being developed.”  

These are only a few of the many examples of the blossoming friendship between Israel and Azerbaijan. Indeed, Azerbaijan is more than just a Shia nation that borders Iran, which can serve as Israel's eyes and ears on Tehran. In fact, it is a vibrant, multi-cultural society, where anti-Semitism is a foreign concept. Jews have been living in Azerbaijan since antiquity, and play a prominent role in Azerbaijani society.  

Some of the most notable Jewish figures from Azerbaijan include, Lev Landau, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, and Albert Agarunov, considered a national hero from the First Karabakh War. A giant statue was built in his honor in Baku, a rarity in a Shia Muslim country. Yevda Abramov, a Mountain Jew, served in Azerbaijan's National Assembly. Solomon Grobshtein is one of the founders of the Baku oil industry. Bella Davidovich, a famous American pianist, was born in Baku as well to a family of Jewish musicians. Ella Leya, is a famous Azerbaijani-American composer, singer, and writer. And the list just goes on and on regarding how Jews have contributed to Azerbaijani society.

For this reason, the friendship between both countries is deep, as Jews in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani Jews in Israel both work hard to build up the friendship between both countries. Furthermore, both countries have shared history and a number of common interests that expand far beyond cooperation related to the Iranian threat. Indeed, both countries are secular, tolerant, vibrant, multicultural societies, who faces delegitimization in the West.

Israel’s trade turnover with Azerbaijan during the first two months of 2023 amounted to $334.1 million, a 26.36% increase from the previous period in 2022, while Israel's share in Azerbaijan's total trade turnover grew by 4.66%. According to Israel's Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek, bilateral trade turnover between both countries is expected to double this year. 

Last month, Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also visited Azerbaijan, which is further proof of the growing ties between both countries since Azerbaijan opened up its embassy in Tel Aviv. Indeed, the sky's the limit regarding the potential growth for the Azerbaijani-Israeli friendship.