Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Activists of the International Association Israel-Azerbaijan (AZIS) held a public meeting in the Israeli town of Rehovot within the framework of the Days of Azerbaijan.

The meeting was organized at the initiative of AZIS and with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The event brought together Mayor of the Israeli town of Kiryat Ekron Hovav Zabari, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Integration Oded Forer, and Head of the Israeli cultural center at the Azerbaijan University of Languages ​​Emiliya Rzayeva.

To familiarize Israelis with the tragedy in Khojaly, Azerbaijan, AZIS has opened a mobile photo exhibition "Justice for Khojaly".

Opening the event, expert on international relations and AZIS board member Arye Gut, gave an emotional and informative report about the Khojaly tragedy, saying that the Khojaly massacre, an unprecedented act of barbarism, was one of the horrible tragedies of the 20th century.

"The cruel and ruthless scenes of this tragedy, which we are demonstrating today, will remain forever as a non-healing scar on the heart of Azerbaijan," Gut said. "In a cold winter night, Armenian fascists, sparing neither old men, women or children, killed 613 people; many of them were subjected to terrible tortures, abuses, and humiliations - all because these people were Azerbaijanis. The massacre in Khojaly was a crime against humanity."

He stated that the Khojaly tragedy was one of the stages of the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"There is no explanation for such savagery and brutality against innocent people. This terrible tragedy should never be forgotten," Gut said.

Many guests experienced a real shock at getting acquainted with the materials of the photo exhibition. The exhibition was held in many Israeli cities recently, and each time the reaction of the audience was similar.

Then Gut spoke about the history of Azerbaijan during the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic period -the first parliamentary democracy in the Muslim world-, the role of Jews in the history and culture of Azerbaijan, and today's grand development, rich culture, and unprecedented growth of Azerbaijan's economy.

The evening came to an end with a concert of string quartet by Leonid Barshtak, which included works of Azerbaijani classical music luminaries Uzeyir Hajibeyli, Gara Garayev, and Tofig Guliyev.