‘To walk in an Islamic country and feel safe like I was in Tel Aviv was amazing.`
Likud MK Oren Hazan and Mendi Safadi, an Israeli Druse who served as former Likud deputy minister Ayoub Kara’s chief of staff, have returned from a trip to Azerbaijan where officials expressed deep friendship with Israel and a desire to cooperate in various fields.
“For me as a Jew and the deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset to walk in an Islamic country and feel safe like I was in Tel Aviv was amazing,” Hazan told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
Israelis often think they do not have many friends in the world, said Hazan, but actually, there are people with whom we often do not realize we can build strong ties.
In a visit to the largest mosque in Azerbaijan, located in the capital Baku, people told him the reason they are friendly with Israel while other Muslims are not, is that “We are not Arabs.”
“They had no problem that Israel is the land of the Jewish people,” continued Hazan, adding, “How is it I can enter a mosque in Azerbaijan, but not in Israel?” Hazan and Safadi visited the country on the invitation of Ismael Agayev, the chairman of the Azerbaijan diaspora, who is also a candidate for parliament in the coming election. They also were hosted by Alexander Shapiro, an important figure in the local Jewish community.
“The hospitality was great and the Azerbaijanis did not make me feel I was different,” said Hazan. “The Imam and I, in a visit to the largest mosque, agreed that God belongs to everyone and that it is in our hands to live together in peace.”
Israeli MP: Azerbaijanis did not make me feel I was different
21 September 2015
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