A group of senior American Jewish leaders visited Azerbaijan last week, amid strong ties between the predominantly Shi’ite country and the Jewish state.
The five-day visit by the leadership of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, ahead of their annual Israel mission now underway in Jerusalem, included meetings with Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. The trip coincided with a visit to the South Caucasus nation of some 10.4 million people by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
“Azerbaijan stands at a critical crossroads of politics, security and energy,” said William C. Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents. “Its role in countering terrorism and extremist movements makes engagement even more important.”
During their meeting with Aliyev, the American Jewish leaders discussed Azerbaijan–Israel relations and Azerbaijan–U.S. relations, as well as the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which the Azerbaijani president credited to President Donald Trump’s facilitation, the Conference of Presidents said.
Leaders of the Conference of Presidents made their first official visit to Baku 20 years ago.
“In the decades since, our partnership with Azerbaijan strengthened, widened and demonstrated clear strategic value for the United States, Israel and the broader Jewish world,” said Betsy Berns Korn, chair of the Conference of Presidents. “Returning now carried real purpose.”
During the visit last week, the delegation met with the Jewish community of Azerbaijan, spent time with students in Red Village, home to Azerbaijan’s Mountain Jews, and visited Jewish centers.
Historically, Azerbaijan is home to three distinct Jewish communities: European Jews, who settled in the area during the late 19th to early 20th centuries, and during World War II; Jews from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, who settled mainly in Baku during the early part of the 20th century; and Mountain Jews, the most sizable and ancient group.
Ties with Azerbaijan, which shares a 428-mile border with Iran, are of strategic importance to Israel, as both a conduit for intelligence and due to its light crude oil, which accounts for nearly half of Israel’s petroleum imports.
At the same time, Azerbaijan is a leading purchaser of Israeli military hardware, which helped Baku in the Second Karabakh War with Armenia in 2020.
Three years ago, Azerbaijan made history by becoming the first Shi’ite country to open an embassy in Israel, defying threats from Iran and putting its longstanding friendship with the Jewish state out in the open.
