Rubio ratchets up anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric while defending anti-Semitic Armenia US Senator's short-sighted policy

Is US Senator Marco Rubio an anti-Semite, a backer of countries and terrorist organisations that commit heinous acts of vandalism? On the face of it, this is a very surprising question. But, let's not jump to conclusions and pay attention to the facts, starting with the scandalous statement of this member of the Republican Party, a Senator from the state of Florida.

Rubio wrote on X (former Twitter) that American taxpayers should not pay for the military support of Azerbaijan from the United States and noted that the Senate passed the act on the protection of Armenia, which stops such assistance. I think it is important to present his entire statement to make its pro-Armenian essence obvious.

"US taxpayer dollars should not go to Azerbaijan, a country that has brought instability to the region. My Senate colleagues agree, and together we have passed the Armenia Protection Act. I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to do the same," Rubio wrote.

As we can see, he portrays concern for the cost to American taxpayers by opting to use completely false rhetoric.

But I will start by reminding you that since the beginning of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the United States has done nothing to condemn the occupying country. No sanctions have been imposed against Armenia. On the contrary, after the occupation of Shusha and several districts of our country, after the genocide of the peaceful Azerbaijani population in Khojaly, the US adopted the 907th amendment. In 2001, they decided to "freeze" it. But the volume of American military aid was so minuscule that nobody in Baku discussed it.

At the same time, I should add that the USA was the only country that annually and officially allocated financial aid to Armenians illegally residing in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Despite all this, Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity, and its sovereignty. And now we see that the pressure is put on Azerbaijan - the victim of occupation.

But, no less disgusting, Rubio is advocating increased aid to a state in which acts of Judophobia and anti-Semitism have become standard practice. As you know, on November 15, the only synagogue in Yerevan was set on fire. This is the second case of burning a Jewish religious site in the world since the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the first one outside the Middle East (the previous case of burning a synagogue was in Tunisia on October 18).

Armenia's Chief Rabbi Gershon Burstein told Armenian media how the burning of the Yerevan synagogue took place: "For 40 minutes they tried to start the fire, they had little petrol, then they brought more." Even after the initial attack, numerous threats from ASALA and warnings from Israelis and Jewish organisations, the Armenian authorities failed to take adequate measures to protect the only synagogue in the country. For almost an hour, the attackers were not prevented.

The arson in Yerevan was the second attack on the country's only Jewish religious building in the past two months. The first occurred on October 3. A group using the name ASALA Young and claiming to be the successor to the terrorist organisation ASALA (Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia) claimed responsibility for both attacks.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs research centre, the group is the youth wing of ASALA. Since its formation in 1975 in Lebanon, the organisation has carried out more than 80 terrorist attacks and sabotage attacks, mostly against Turkish officials and targets in Europe, the Middle East and the US. ASALA has worked closely with Syria's intelligence services and Palestinian paramilitary groups. Judging by a statement on ASALA Young's Telegram channel, it is the founders of the organisation that its youth wing now sees as role models.

Both attacks on the synagogue in Yerevan drew global attention. The president of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), one of Europe's largest rabbinical organisations, demanded that the Armenian authorities detain members of ASALA, outlaw the group and increase security for the Jewish community. It added: "If there is no proper response, Jewish blood will be spilled in the streets and the responsibility will lie with the Armenian government."

At the same time, Israeli Ambassador to Armenia Joel Lion called on the Armenian government to condemn all forms of anti-Semitism, thoroughly investigate the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Jerusalem Post, an authoritative Israeli publication, has already called Armenia "the most anti-Semitic country in the post-Soviet space" - 58 per cent of the population here share anti-Jewish sentiments.

Meanwhile, the international news agency BNN Breaking noted that this is not the first case of anti-Semitism in Armenia, as the country has previously witnessed cases of blatant disregard for cultural and religious values, especially those related to the Jewish heritage. And in this regard, it makes sense to recall that there have never been cases of anti-Semitism in Azerbaijan. Synagogues are functioning in our country. People pray in them calmly and peacefully.

And what do we see Senator Marco Rubio proposing? He says that American taxpayers should not pay for the US military support to Azerbaijan and advocates supporting Armenia. That is, he is calling for help to Armenia, where anti-Semitism and vandalism have been frequent and threatening, where a synagogue is being desecrated and the terrorist organisation ASALA is claiming responsibility. Rubio advocates that the US not provide military aid to Azerbaijan, where Jews have historically always felt protected and happy. Who but an anti-Semite after all this is Senator Marco Rubio? This is a question that representatives of US Jewish organisations and his Jewish voters should ask him.