The Bukharian Times: In its relationship with Israel, Azerbaijan has shown a political courage

Published: 2025-11-13 11:50

"No Central Asian leader was invited to the Cairo ‘Peace Summit for Gaza,’ while both Armenia and Azerbaijan received invitations. Despite fierce criticism for its cooperation with Israel, Azerbaijan was not sidelined. On the contrary, over the past three years, it has consolidated its position in Israeli and Syrian energy projects, and today, in the Eastern Mediterranean, Azerbaijan has more room to maneuver than Turkey itself," notes The Bukharian Times, a New York–based newspaper of the United States’ Bukharian Jewish community.*

"Azerbaijan today stands among the few Muslim-majority states whose leadership has resisted emotional manipulation by foreign powers seeking to speak directly to their publics over the heads of their governments. The manipulative campaigns of Qatar, Turkey, and Iran have already pushed several Muslim nations into adopting positions that serve external agendas — rationalizing or romanticizing Hamas, even when such groups undermine their own national interests. In Azerbaijan, such emotional blackmail has found little traction. Baku quietly dismissed the ‘Free Palestine’ hysteria, despite being criticized by self-appointed guardians of Islamic authenticity. In its relationship with Israel, Azerbaijan has shown a political courage that many others — eager to be seen as part of the ‘Arab street’ that never invited them — still lack," the newspaper adds.

*Bukharian Jews are an ethnic and linguistic group of Jews from Central Asia, primarily Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

By Azerbaijani-Israeli Alliance Global News