A reporter for the International Arab TV station Al-Jazeera was sent to Baku, Azerbaijan to interview the Chabad activities in the country. The TV station is running a series of programs on Jews and other minorities in Arab countries.
Shliach Interviewed By Al-Jezzera
A reporter for the International Arab TV station Al-Jazeera was sent to Baku, Azerbaijan to interview the Chabad activities in the country. The TV station is running a series of programs on Jews and other minorities in Arab countries.
The reporter interviewed the emissary in Baku, Rabbi Meir Bruk. The interview was coordinated with the government.
The moderator of the program is Zahur Alchakima, a native of Syria who has dual Syrian-Russian citizenship. He told Rabbi Bruk that in his neighborhood in Haleb, Syria, there was a Jewish neighborhood and the government harrassed them. They were forbidden to leave their houses after 8 PM. This is the first time, he said, in Azerbaijan ,a Moslem country, that he sees cooperation between jews and Arabs without harrassment
A great part of the show covers Chabad activities and the activities of the Federation of Jewish communities. Rabbi Bruk encouraged viewers to observe the 7 Noahide Laws.
The reporter asked him sharp questions but Rabbi Bruk fielded them very eloquently and wisely.
“Do you think there will ever be an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict?” he asked him. Rabbi Bruk responded: “In my opinion there is no real conflict between the two religions. The conflict in Israel is local. We have to do everything we can so that the struggle there does not turn into a religious conflict.”
Zuhar was surprised by his response and said “You have shattered all my theories. I thought that it was the religious leaders who are responsible for al lthe bloodshed.”
interested & surprised
The reporter actually looks interested & non-judgmental. It sounds like Rabbi Bruk is a smart man from his answers. But I’m surprised that even to promote tolerance & understanding, anyone, esp. a Chabad shaliach, would have anything to do with a TV station that promotes terrorism, violence and hatred & shows such barbaric acts like beheadings. Very interesting.
out-of-towner
please post the video interview!
Good for him!
WoW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MORDECHAI
Azerbaijan is a moslem country, but as far as I know is not an arab country. just like Ozbakistan and Turkey and Iran.
tiffy
this my friends is what we vall i forgot the word for it(-:
I Don-t understand...
I would not trust an Arab or a Muslim for that matter.
To me this is exactly like going on German television in 1940 and talking about the 7 Noahide Laws. There is a certain level of evil which cannot be transformed or dealt with – it must be destroyed (like Amalek).
Al Jazeera are Anti-Semites and Anti-Israel. I am not sure what Rabbi Bruk was thinking. I am going to be Dan L’kaf Z’chus and assume he had no choice.
noach cof vo
Attention interested and suprised:
Because the station supports terrorism ,there fore the shliach shouldn’t get interviewed? Is that going to get arabs to stop hating us?
JIM
nytimes also supports terrorism…and worse than aljazeera becuse jews are duped into following their hedonistic bent. You see clearly that the Rabbi made a kiddush Hashem, by the fact that he dispells the interviewers prejudice. That the Jazeera viewers only see the jewish “leaders” (clowns really) from Israel is a crime that the Rabbi did a bit to remedy.
shocked
what kind of balony is that, arabs hate jews because they are jews, the land, is just an excuse.
Zlatan
Al-Jazeera’s series is regarding Jewish communities in Muslim countries, not Arab countries. Azerbaijan is not Arab….and not all Muslims feel hatred toward Jews.