BREAKING: Azerbaijan to Open its First Embassy in Israel

The Eurasian country will be the first Shite Muslim majority nation to do so

By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)

In another major diplomatic coup for Israel, Azerbaijan has announced that they will be opening an embassy for the very first time in Israel. What makes this move especially significant, is that they will be the first Shite Muslim-majority country with a Shite ruler to do so (Bahrain opened its first embassy in Israel in 2021 and has Shite majority but their ruler, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is Sunni)! This follows an historic vote in the energy-rich nation’s parliament in Baku (its capital), approving the move.

Despite this move only occurring now, the two countries have long been allies. Soon after the Eurasian nation declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Israel became one of the first countries to recognize the new nation. The economic and defense ties are vital to the security of both nations. Israel is the largest supplier of defensive weapons to the Shite country (between 2016-2021, 69% of all Azerbaijan’s arm imports were from Israel). In the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war with (Iranian backed) Armenia, Israel supported its Muslim ally (who ultimately won the war). From Israel’s perspective, Azerbaijan shares a border with (and has a hostile relationship with) Iran (although both are Shite nations, Azerbaijan is secular, while Iran is a theocracy). The country has allowed Israel to use its territory for vital intelligence gathering against Iran, and as a point of entry into the radical Islamic country. It is also believed that should Israel need to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapon plants in the future, the use of Azerbaijani airspace for operations and refueling will be fundamental to the success of the operation (it should be noted that both countries deny this. However, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev once compared, in a leaked document, his country’s relationship with Israel as being like an iceberg; with nine-tenths of it being below the surface). On the economic front, Israel buys 40% of its oil from them.

The former Soviet country has a lesser known (but very rich) Jewish heritage. Once home to over 50,000 Jews, most left after the dissolution of the USSR (the majority moved to Israel). However approximately 6000-8000 Jews still live in the country (many of them distinguished in their fields), making it one of the largest Jewish populations in a Muslim country. In fact, the town of Gyrmyzy Gasaba (with an estimated population of 3500 residents) is 100% Jewish according to the official census. This makes the town the only Jewish majority city in the world outside of Israel and the United States.

Azerbaijan (who will be opening their embassy in Tel Aviv) is just one of the latest in a series of countries who are set to open their first embassy in the country. As reported here recently, Singapore recently announced they will open their first embassy in Tel Aviv. Other countries who have recently done so include Tanzania, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Armenia (all in Tel Aviv). Additionally, Kosovo and Honduras both recently opened their first embassies in the country, but did so in Jerusalem, Israel’s current and historic capital city (joining Guatemala and the United States who officially moved their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in recent years).

Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here. To view sample tour itineraries or to inquire about private tour opportunities with a personalized itinerary on your next trip to Israel, click here.