The Times of Israel: Antisemitism in Europe

Published: 2026-08-12 07:44

"The organization of a major gathering of European rabbis in Baku would, in itself, have been an extremely powerful symbol: rabbis from different European countries meeting in a predominantly Muslim country, home to a historic Jewish community and maintaining strategic relations with Israel, would have been an exceptional image. It would have sent a simple message: dialogue between Muslims and Jews is not merely possible; it already exists," according to The Times of Israel, a Jerusalem-based independent online newspaper covering Israeli, Middle Eastern, and Jewish world affairs.

"Yet this initiative met with opposition. In 2023, the prospect of a conference of the Conference of European Rabbis in Baku was publicly criticized in particular by French rabbis and Jewish intellectuals. Part of the French Jewish debate at the time viewed Azerbaijan primarily through the geopolitical controversies of the Caucasus. This was a mistake, because Baku should have been viewed through another reality: that of religious coexistence, the history of the Mountain Jews, and the close relations between Azerbaijan and Israel," the online newspaper adds.

By Azerbaijani-Israeli Alliance Global News