Chabad Lubavitch of Azerbaijan
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Chabad-Lubavitch in Azerbaijan: Rabbi Shneor Segal's Ashkenazi community in Baku since 2002/03, the Ohr Avner school opened by President Aliyev, and Chabad in Quba and Sumqayit
| Chabad Lubavitch of Azerbaijan
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Chabad-Lubavitch emissary operation |
| Founded | 2002 (per Chabad of Baku) |
| Founder(s) | Shneor Segal and Chavi Segal |
| Headquarters | Jewish Community of Baku, 171, Dilara Alieva Street, Baku 1014 |
| Area served | Azerbaijan |
| Key people | Shneor Segal; Mati Lewis; Pesah Mirov; Mendy Leichter (Sumqayit); Yona Yaakobi (Quba) |
| Remarks | Affiliations: Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS; Ohr Avner Foundation; Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States. Website chabadbaku.com |
Chabad-Lubavitch in Azerbaijan is led by Rabbi Shneor Segal, who heads Baku's Ashkenazi community. ARIS calls him "Chief Rabbi of Azerbaijan Ashkenazi community".[1] Chabad of Baku says it was founded "by Rabbi Shneor Segal and Mrs. Chavi Segal In the year 2002". It also says it "is not funded by the global Chabad movement, but by donations of individuals and organizations".[2] Chabad's flagship institution is the Ohr Avner school in Baku. President Ilham Aliyev and Mehriban Aliyeva opened it on 4 October 2010 on a 1.5-hectare plot allocated by the state.[3][4] In 2022 Segal said there were "seven Chabad emissaries operating in the entire country, five of them in Baku".[5]
Sources give different start dates for Segal: 2002 (Chabad of Baku), 2003 (Chabad.org, 2012) and about 2008 (Ynet, 2022, "14 years ago").[2][6][5]
Emissaries and centres
- Baku. Shneor Segal and Chavi Segal run the Ashkenazi community and the Chabad house.[2] Lubavitch.com lists other emissaries in Baku, among them Mati Lewis, who runs the Ohr Avner Chabad Jewish Day School, and Pesah Mirov.[7] ARIS lists Nachshon Yunaev ("Rabbi for Youth Activities Jewish community of Baku"), Lewis, Mirov and Shneor Elimelech as rabbis in the Baku community.[1]
- Ohr Avner school. The Azerbaijani presidency described a centre for 450 children, with 30 classrooms, a centre of Jewish history and culture, and a library.[3] JTA reported that Lev Leviev "and other philanthropists donated the $10 million for the school, which serves about 400 students".[4] Chabad.org gave the building's area as 4,200 m² and the number of pupils as about 450 in 2012.[6]
- Sumqayit. Rabbi Mendy Leichter and Ahuva Leichter run the Jewish Community of Sumqayit, 3 Kvartel, Sumqayit 5000.[8][1]
- Quba (Krasnaya Sloboda). Rabbi Yona Ronen Yaakobi moved from Kfar Saba in 2005 to the Mountain Jewish town of Krasnaya Sloboda, according to Lubavitch.com (2019). He runs Beit Chabad Quba.[9][10]
Relations with the Jewish community
- Communities. According to Ynet (2022), Baku has about 25,000 Jews. There are three congregations: Mountain Jews (70%), Ashkenazim (20%) and Georgian Jews (10%).[5] The Forward (2020) put the national figure at about 30,000, of whom 6,000–7,000 are Ashkenazim.[11]
- Mountain Jews. The Mountain Jewish majority has its own institutions. The older Jewish school in central Baku, founded in 1994, is headed by Rabbi Zamir Isaev of the Mountain Jewish community, who "also serves as the rabbi of the Georgian community". Ynet describes Ohr Avner as "another Jewish school in the city established by Chabad".[5] Chabad.org (2012) says a Mountain Jewish synagogue was built "with government funding".[6] In Krasnaya Sloboda, Chabad's Yaakobi works within a Mountain Jewish town. Lubavitch.com quotes the scholar Alexander Murinson crediting Chabad's investment there since 1991.[9]
Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
ARIS lists six rabbis in Azerbaijan:[1]
| Rabbi | ARIS role / description | Chabad? |
|---|---|---|
| Shneor Segal | Executive Board; "Chief Rabbi of Azerbaijan Ashkenazi community" | Yes |
| Mendy Leichter | "Rabbi of Sumqayit" | Yes. Lubavitch.com lists him and Ahuva Leichter as emissaries at the Jewish Community of Sumqayit.[8] |
| Nachshon Yunaev | "Rabbi for Youth Activities Jewish community of Baku" | Not confirmed by a separate source |
| Mati Lewis | "Rabbi in the Jewish community of Baku" | Yes (Lubavitch.com)[7] |
| Pesah Mirov | "Rabbi in the Jewish community of Baku" | Yes (Lubavitch.com)[7] |
| Shneor Elimelech | "Rabbi in the Jewish community of Baku" | Not confirmed by a separate source |
The Forward reported in 2021 that, through ARIS, "rabbis in Azerbaijan helped bring handmade matzah to Jewish communities in Iran" (see Chabad Lubavitch of Iran).[12]
Relations with the state, business and Israel
- The Aliyevs.
- At the opening of Ohr Avner in 2010, Ilham Aliyev said: "We call on all other nations to treat minorities like we do — with respect."[4] Leviev presented Mehriban Aliyeva, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, with an award "for her contribution to the development of tolerance and inter-confessional dialog".[3]
- A video message from Israeli President Shimon Peres thanked Aliyev for building the school.[3]
- Chabad.org describes the school as a Leviev and Ohr Avner Foundation project carried out with the cooperation of Heydar and Ilham Aliyev.[6]
- Israeli visits. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman toured the Ohr Avner school during a diplomatic visit in April 2012.[6]
- Karabakh war, 2020. In October 2020 Segal's synagogue received special permission to open during COVID-19 restrictions so that the community could pray for Azerbaijan's victory.[11]
- Anadolu Agency quoted him as saying: "Today, we prayed for every soldier and our army, which fights for our motherland. I believe we'll hold our next sermon at Shusha".[13]
- He told The Forward: "We prayed that there will be no harm, no injuries and everyone will come back home ... We hope the full territory of Azerbaijan will be back in the hands of those it belongs to."[11]
- Israel–Azerbaijan relationship.
- CNN (2023), citing SIPRI, reported that "more than 60% of Azerbaijani weapons imports came from Israel between 2017 and 2020". It said Israeli drones were used in the Karabakh campaigns, and that Israel bought 65% of its crude oil from Azerbaijan in 2021.
- CNN also cited reports that the Mossad uses Azerbaijan as a hub. It noted that Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Israel in 2023, and quoted a leaked US cable describing the relationship as "like an iceberg".[14]
- The Forward reported that Armenia recalled its ambassador from Israel in October 2020 over arms sales.[11]
Funding and donors
- The Ohr Avner school was funded by Lev Leviev and other philanthropists ($10 million, per JTA), on land allocated by the state.[4][3]
- Chabad of Baku says it is funded by donations, "not ... by the global Chabad movement".[2]
- No accounts were found.
Controversies
- In 2020 Segal publicly prayed for military victory, placing a Chabad emissary on one side of an interstate war. At the same time, The Forward reported, Jews in Yerevan were praying alongside "a Lubavitcher rabbi" that "Israeli bombs won't fall on Armenian lives" (see Chabad Lubavitch of Armenia).[11] JTA reported in 2024 that Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan had caused resentment in Armenia.[15]
- No legal cases or regulatory findings were found.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2002/03 | Shneor and Chavi Segal arrive in Baku |
| 2005 | Yona Yaakobi moves to Krasnaya Sloboda (Quba) |
| 4 Oct 2010 | Ilham and Mehriban Aliyev open the Ohr Avner school |
| Apr 2012 | Avigdor Lieberman visits Ohr Avner |
| Sep 2019 | ARIS founded; Segal on Executive Board |
| Oct 2020 | Segal leads prayers for the army during the Karabakh war |
| 2021 | Azerbaijani rabbis supply matzah to Iran via ARIS |
| Sep 2022 | First Limmud FSU conference in Baku |
| 2023 | Azerbaijan opens an embassy in Israel |
See also
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Azerbaijan
- Chabad-Lubavitch in West Asia
- Chabad Lubavitch of Armenia
- Chabad Lubavitch of Georgia
- Chabad Lubavitch of Iran
- Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, "The Rabbis", accessed 20 October 2026. Chabad-side (ARIS).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chabad of Baku, "About Chabad House Baku", accessed 20 October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, "Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the Chabad Ohr-Avner education center for Jewish children", 4 October 2010. Official.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Marcy Oster, "Jewish school dedicated in Azerbaijan", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 5 October 2010. Press.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Eli Mandelbaum and Joel Rappel, "Baku's Jewish community perseveres against all odds", Ynetnews, c. November 2022. Press.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Chabad.org, "Israeli FM Visits Jewish School During Diplomatic Mission to Azerbaijan", April 2012. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lubavitch.com, Centres directory: Baku, accessed 20 October 2026. Chabad-side directory.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lubavitch.com, Centres directory: Sumqayit, accessed 20 October 2026. Chabad-side directory.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ashira Weiss, "A Spiritual Injection for Azerbaijan's Hidden Jerusalem", Lubavitch.com, 2019. Chabad-side.
- ↑ Lubavitch.com, Centres directory: Quba, accessed 20 October 2026. Chabad-side directory.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 David Ian Klein, "Amid fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan's Jews pray for victory", The Forward, 16 October 2020. Press.
- ↑ David Ian Klein, "Matzah in Beirut or a Seder in Samarkand? These rabbis are making it happen.", The Forward, 22 March 2021. Press.
- ↑ Ruslan Rehimov, "Azerbaijan: Christians, Jews pray for army's success", Anadolu Agency, 8 October 2020. Press (Turkish state agency).
- ↑ Max Saltman, "As Azerbaijan claims final victory in Nagorno Karabakh, arms trade with Israel comes under scrutiny", CNN, 4 October 2023. Press.
- ↑ Larry Luxner, "Russia's invasion of Ukraine inadvertently sparks a Jewish renaissance — in Armenia", Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 22 February 2024. Press.