Azerbaijan to get new Jewish center

E-mail article Share on Facebook Digg this Tell the Editors What bloggers are saying

Published: 06/04/2007

Chabad broke ground on a massive new educational complex in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.

At a May 31 ceremony attended by Azeri first lady Mehriban Aliyeva, Chabad broke ground on the Ohr Avner Chabad Educational Complex, an 11-building complex that includes a school, orphanage, shul and cultural center. According to Avraham Berkowitz, executive director of the Federation of Jewish Communities of the Former Soviet Union, a Chabad umbrella organization, the complex will allow the school to expand its capacity to 600 students from 400.

Although Azerbaijan is a predominantly Muslim country, the Jewish community enjoys good relations with the government and reports of anti-Semitic activities are few. Israeli oligarch Lev Leviev's Ohr Avner Foundation and the Gaidar Aliyev Foundation will jointly finance the $20 million project.

Following the meeting, a delegation including Leviev attended a one-hour meeting with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev to discuss the project, as well as continuing cooperation between the government and Jewish community.

The complex, on a 15,000-acre plot allotted to the community by the president, is expected to open in the summer of 2008.

Previous

Next

If you reached this page via email, click here to go to the JTA web site.

JTA Daily Briefing: Our free newsletter delivers breaking news & timely, topical information right to your inbox: Enter Name: E-Mail Address: