The Jerusalem Post: Armenian lobby takes aim at Israel Over US aid to Azerbaijan

A U.S. congressional act that will expand military aid to Azerbaijan has heightened tensions between the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and Israel, and now, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post.

The related bill, introduced by Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, seeks to lift long-standing restrictions under Section 907 and would allow for increased U.S. military assistance to Baku. The proposal comes just months after Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders signed a joint declaration in Washington in August 2025 aimed at normalising relations between the two countries.

Luna’s bill has faced criticism from the Armenian lobby, including from ANCA. The organisation stated that Israel’s policy “contradicts Jewish traditions, both spiritual and secular.” It noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “is arming Azerbaijan” and “jeopardising the Armenian Christian Quarter in Jerusalem.”

This phrasing attracted attention because the political attack on Israel invoked Jewish identity at a time when sensitivity to antisemitism in the U.S. is heightened. On his first day in office, New York Mayor Zohar Mamdani rescinded several orders issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams, including the city’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. Jewish community leaders criticised this move.

Separately, a renewed source of tension in Armenian-Israeli relations has emerged. Videos from Yerevan show Armenians gathering in the city centre to commemorate the birthday of Garegin Nzhdeh. Former Israeli ambassador to Armenia, Yoel Lyon, previously condemned public celebrations in honour of Nzhdeh, calling the glorification of a Nazi collaborator unacceptable and urging Armenian authorities to take a firm stance against neo-Nazism and antisemitism.

By Khagan Isayev