"I have never been to Azerbaijan, so I never visited the local Jewish community. I would like to do this in the future. "
This was in an exclusive interview to Stmegi.com portal, the Israeli historian, the head of the Jerusalem branch of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Ephraim Zuroff, stated.
According to him, relations between Israel and Azerbaijan are very positive and are a unique model of Muslim-Jewish cooperation and mutual understanding.
"I was very interested in the life of Soviet Jewry struggling for my freedom, and also wrote an essay on the revival of Jewish identity in the Soviet Union. I well know the mountain Jews and their unique history. But I am not familiar with the community of Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan, "E. Zuroff noted.
Speaking about anti-Semitism, the historian noted that the growth of anti-Semitic incidents in many countries in recent years is a clear symptom of the urgency of this problem, which often leads to attacks on Jewish institutions and direct physical violence.
"History has shown that in many cases movements that initially preach hatred against Jews are then directed against other groups of the population, which leads to disastrous results for a huge number of people. The most striking example is, of course, the Nazi regime, "Zuroff said.
The historian believes that the level of anti-Semitism in the United States is generally lower than in Europe, but remains significant and causes concern: "Unfortunately, anti-Semitism is everywhere, but its growth has recently been particularly noticeable in other Western democracies. And the fact that the perpetrators remain unpunished generates an additional wave of anti-Semitism, "Zuroff said.
Turning to the Iranian-Israeli confrontation, the historian said that the Sunni countries view Iran as a serious threat to their security and are interested in secret cooperation with Israel in the areas of security and intelligence.
"But will this cooperation lead to peace and harmony between these countries and Israel - yet to be determined," Efraim Zuroff summed up.