Prominent Rabbis Call on Trump to Repeal Section 907
The Israeli government has stepped up its efforts to push for a trilateral “strategic alliance” with Azerbaijan and the United States, including calling on the Trump administration to repeal Section 907.
“Azerbaijan is an important strategic ally of Israel in the Caucasus region, with relations encompassing cooperation in security, trade, technology, and energy sectors,” Israel’s Prime Minister’s office said last week, in announcing that Tel Aviv was in active talks with Washington to advance a three-way alliance, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Speaking on behalf of the government, Orit Strock, Israel’s National Missions Minister, told the Knesset that “the relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan is built on a unique partnership based on mutual interests and longstanding friendship.”
“Israel will continue to strengthen cooperation with Azerbaijan and the US, and will stand firmly against any attempt to undermine it,” Strock emphasized.
Israel and Azerbaijan have enjoyed a close alliance over the past several decades, with Baku spending billions of dollars to acquire Israeli-made military hardware, which was used during the 2020 War in Artsakh.
Certain experts believe that Baku’s attacks on Artsakh in 2020, using Israeli weapons, became a blueprint for Israel’s attack on Gaza.
In 2017, the Israeli government revoked the export license of one its military supplies manufacturers for having tested its weapons targeting positions in Artsakh.
The discussion on the tripartite “strategic alliance” was spearheaded by member of the Knesset Simon Moshiashvili, who underscored the importance of advancing Israel’s ties with Azerbaijan, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Moshiashvili also raised the need to explore the possibility of including the Azerbaijan in the Abraham Accords framework, an agreement initiated by the U.S. and signed by mainly Muslim Arab countries, which advocated for a ceasefire in Gaza. The agreements provide the signatory countries with certain security incentives.
Moshiashvili pointed to what he described as an “absurd situation” where “countries that were at war with Israel until signing the Abraham Accords immediately receive various economic and security incentives after signing. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan, which has long been an important component of our regional security architecture, suffers from American sanctions,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
The Israeli lawmaker did not specify what he meant by U.S. sanction against Azerbaijan, but a group of prominent rabbis joined the chorus of Tuesday, calling on President Donald Trump to include Azerbaijan in the Abraham Accords and repeal Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.
Dozens of prominent rabbis with extensive diplomatic backgrounds sent letters to Trump in recent days regarding the possible inclusion of Azerbaijan in the Abraham Accords framework, The Jerusalem Post reported.
“Countries that joined the Abraham Accords received positive incentives and benefits in return for making peace with Israel. In contrast, Azerbaijan became a particularly reliable partner and true friend of Israel three decades ago, without any external influence,” the rabbis wrote in their letters to Trump.
“Repealing Section 907 would be a very good gesture of recognition,” the rabbis insisted.
