Between August 27 and September 7, 86 spiritual Judaist authorities from Europe, America and Muslim countries, as well as dozens of Jewish religious media around the world, spoke out against the use of the Holocaust theme by Armenian political figures, including Prime Minister Pashinyan, as part of a campaign to demonize Azerbaijan.
On September 6, 50 leading rabbis, representing the largest association of Jewish religious leaders (Rabbinical Center of Europe), signed official joint letter addressed to the Prime Minister and the President of Armenia. They demanded to “immediately and completely” seize the use of the Holocaust theme by Armenian propaganda “for the sake of achieving any political goals.”
European rabbis express disappointment over collaboration in Armenia and Iran
As the letter emphasizes, “this message should be taken into account by all relevant government bodies representing the Armenian people.” The European rabbis also expressed their deep disappointment regarding cooperation of the Armenian government with the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, “a country which incessantly openly and publicly calls for its destruction of the only Jewish country in the world”.
The official website of the Rabbinical Center of Europe sustains that it condemns “the Armenian leaders for using Holocaust rhetoric in a campaign against their neighbor, Azerbaijan.”
Furthermore, Israel Heritage Foundation, the American association created by the Holocaust survivors, emphasized in its statement, that they “reject the loose usage of the word “Holocaust” by officials in the Armenian government to discuss the situation in the Karabakh region, and firmly contend that any comparisons to the Holocaust are unwarranted and unjustified."
Chabadinfo website, one of the main mouthpieces of the most influential movement of Judaism in the United States, Chabad, called the accusations against official Baku regarding the “genocide” of the Armenians in Azerbaijani Karabakh a “smear campaign.”
The pan-European Jewish magazine Jüdisches Europa noted that drawing analogies between the Nazi policy of the “final solution to the Jewish question” and Azerbaijan’s attitude towards Armenians in Karabakh, as the Prime Minister of Armenia does, is completely unfounded. Jüdisches Europa further emphasized that “regarding Azerbaijan’s accusations of the “genocide” of Armenians, “there is no tangible evidence, such as cell phone records.”
“Iran-dependent Armenian leaders are already declaring “genocide by famine” at the UN, and social media replete with photos of bustling restaurants and lavish weddings in the enclave with piles of roasted meat and cakes the size of man... there is no tangible evidence yet to support the claims of “starving population” “which should be quite an easy task in this age of global electronic media,” Jüdisches Europa stated.
Shocked by Armenian PM's comments
“I am shocked by the comments made by the Armenian political leader comparing the current situation with the extermination of Jews during the Shoah (Holocaust),” Bruno Fischzon, who is the Chief Rabbi of the Moselle department in northeastern France and the city of Metz, wrote on his personal Facebook page. The Viennese rabbi Arie Folger accused French municipal officials of politicizing humanitarian aid, who at the end of August tried to travel from Armenia to Azerbaijani Karabakh without the consent of official Baku.
As Baku rabbi Zamir Isaev noted, “The US and the EU are making efforts to conclude a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Exerting psychological pressure (on Azerbaijan) by bringing in the issue of “genocide” can only harm the negotiation process.”
Among the European spiritual authorities of Judaism, who argued against the methods of the Armenian propaganda and demonization of Azerbaijan, are: the head of the Rabbinical Court of the Federation of Synagogues, UK, Liechtenstein, the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands Jacobs, the Chief Rabbi of Poland Schudrich, the Chief Rabbi of Slovakia Myers, the Chief Rabbi of Bulgaria Salamon, the Chief Rabbi of Cyprus Raskin, Chief Rabbi of Moldova Salzman,
President of the Conference of Orthodox Rabbis of Germany Avichai Apel, Rabbi of Strasbourg and the Rhineland of France Abraham Weil, Head of the Rabbinical Court of Paris Cohen, Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Marseille Amram, Chief Rabbi of Rome Segni, Chief Ashkenazi and Sephardic Rabbis of Vienna Engelmayer and Niazov, Chief Rabbi of The Hague Katzman, Chief Rabbi of Berlin Teichtel, Chief Rabbi of Munich Brodman, Rabbi of the Wehrmacht Balla, Head of the Rabbinical Court of Budapest Oberloander.
Alongside fellow believers from the largest European centers, spoke the clergy of Judaism from a number of cities in Ukraine, which have been suffering from rocket fire and attacks by Iranian drones for more than a year and a half, among them the chief rabbis of Lvov, Zhitomir, Uzhgorod, as well as the head of the Jewish religious community of Odessa.
