“This is  a warning. If rabbis in the US and Europe continue to support the Aliyev regime, then we will burn synagogues in other countries,” a group claiming the attack said in a statement.

 

A Molotov cocktail was thrown on Monday at the synagogue in the Armenian capital Yerevan, the only one in the country, and paint was sprayed on the walls.

The Molotov cocktail did not explode, but the place of worship was damaged. The act was claimed by a group calling itself “Young Fighters for the Freedom of Armenia”, which claims to have carried out the action “in retaliation for the support of Israel and world Jewry for Azerbaijan”. The group, Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), is considered as a terror organization. It called the action “a successful intimidation operation.”

“This is  a warning. If rabbis in the US and Europe continue to support the Aliyev regime, then we will burn synagogues in other countries,” the group said in a statement posted on Telegram.

“Jews are the enemies of the Armenian people and the Jewish state sells weapons to the Aliyev (the Azerbaijani president) regime,” it added.

“We must not give in to provocations aimed at stirring up conflict between Armenians and Jews,”  reacted the Jewish community in Yerevan. “Now we must all mobilize to help the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh,” community leaders added.

“It’s a gift to the Azerbaijanis who maintain that there is anti-Semitism in Armenia. It’s a provocation,” a Jewish Armenian leader told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Rabbi Zamir Isayev, a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Azerbaijan, issued a dire warning amidst the escalating war between Azerbaijan and Armenia: “I repeat my call to the Jews in Armenia: Leave, and if you need help, I’ll take care of it. Leave before it’s too late…”

As the director of the Baku Jewish school and of the Georgian-Sephardic Jewish community in Azerbaijan, Isayev urged Armenian Jews to leave their country, in order for them to stay safe.

In a tweet, Isayev added: “A few weeks ago I warned that staying in Armenia is dangerous for Jews. Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry raised the possibility of violence against Jews twice during the last month. The reason is Israel’s close relations with Azerbaijan, and also the fact that we, rabbis, oppose the usage of the Holocaust topic for propaganda purposes.”