Ambassadorial Change Of The Guard

George Deek

George Deek is concluding his four-year ambassadorial tenure in Azerbaijan. Four remarkable years during which Mr. Deek won widespread affection for his charm, creativity, and genuine connection to Azerbaijan’s people and the local ethos. To his credit Mr. Deek introduced the tradition of producing videos that celebrated Azerbaijani customs and holidays, a practice later adopted by ambassadors from the UK and the US.

Taking Mr. Deek’s place as Israel’s Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan is Ronen Kraus, currently serving as the Director of the Eurasian Division at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After being appointed, Kraus expressed his gratitude on X on January 12, 2025: “@AmbRonenKrausz – Honoured and privileged to be formally assigned as the next Israel Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

Kraus inherits the significant task of building on Deek’s impactful contributions to Israel-Azerbaijan relations. Since he presented his credentials to Elmar Mammadyarov, then-Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister in December 2019, Mr. Deek worked tirelessly and with much success to strengthen the bilateral partnership between Israel and Azerbaijan.

Ronen Kraus

Ronen Kraus, the newly appointed Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Azerbaijan is preparing for his position among which he held a roundtable discussion with Diaspora and community leaders at the Azerbaijan House in Israel.

The “Azerbaijan House in Israel” is an organizational coordination center of the Azerbaijani-Mountain Jews diaspora of Israel and the Azerbaijani Mountain Jews community in the city of Acre (Akko).

Attending the meeting with Mr. Kraus were Shirin Nehamia Michaeli, the head of the Azerbaijani Mountain-Jewish community and Azerbaijan House in Israel, Pavel Elizarov, advisor to the Minister of Defense of Israel, Ben Sion Shmaelov, Head of the Cultural Center of Caucasian Jews of City of Kiryat Yam, Adil Danilov, Chairman of the Mountain Jewish Community of city of Kiryat Byalik, Elisha Khanulayev, Chairman of the Mountain Jewish Community of Pardes Khana, and others.

The meeting, held in a round table format intended to further strengthen Azerbaijan-Israel socio-political relations; to bolster alliance between the two states and their peoples.

Ambassadorial Change Of The Guard 1 — The round table meeting at the Azerbaijan House in Israel; https://x.com/AmbRonenKrausz

Opening the meeting was Mr. Mikhaili who expressed gratitude to the distinguished guests for the get together at the Azerbaijan House in Israel*.

*The Azerbaijan House in Israel was jointly built by Mr. Shimon Lankri, former mayor of the city of Akko, and Mr. German Zakharyayev, vice president of “All-Russian Jewish Congress” and the president of the International STMEGI Charity Foundation.

Azerbaijan House in Israel

The Azerbaijan House in the Israeli city of Acre, Israel, the hometown to the largest concentration of Jews from Azerbaijan in Israel, acts as a coordination center of Mountain Jews immigrants from Azerbaijan.

The coordination center for the heritage of Mountain Jews of Azerbaijan, also known as the Azerbaijan House, plays an important role in keeping the Mountain Jews’ heritage, language, and culture alive, helping to accommodate the members’ cultural needs.

Over the years many Mountain Jews emigrated from Azerbaijan, some moved to Israel. Acclimating in Israel posed many challenges to the Azerbaijani newcomers, especially in retaining the cultural and heritage they were accustomed to, while integrating into Israeli society. Azerbaijan House in Israel steadily plans activities and upholds the history, culture, language, and spiritual values of the Azerbaijani Jews acts as a remarkable cohesive center.

The Uniqueness of Azerbaijan Regarding Its Jewish Community

Azerbaijan has been a safe home for Jews for centuries. There is no country in all of Eurasia that holds similar Israel-Azerbaijan relations. The connection between the majority Muslim country – Azerbaijan – and the only Jewish state – Israel – will be written in the annals of history as most unique, from which the global community should take a lesson.

This well-crafted diplomatically with the essence of respect and kindred spirit relations between the people should serve as a model for harmonious coexistence in countries where different religions commingle.

Why Baku International Multiculturalism Centre

The Republic of Azerbaijan could be seen as holding the coexistence and tolerance among its people leading the torch, the key foundations of its society.

The Baku International Multiculturalism Centre main goal is to ensure the preservation of tolerance, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity in accordance with the ideology of “Azerbaijanism”; additionally to represent Azerbaijan as the center of multiculturalism in the world, exploring and promoting existing multicultural models.

The center’s main goals are to search for traces of ancient cultures in various regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in conjunction with relevant scientific organizations while adhering archaeological research arrangement in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments; to collect, scientifically study and protect the cultural and ethnographic heritage; to implement projects aimed at the systematic elimination of certain shortcomings, manifested in the field of education, culture, science and other social spheres, and the hindering of the harmonious development of the moral integrity of a personality; to produce effective analysis and disseminate the world experts’ personal experience in the field of multiculturalism, as well as of past and contemporary political and public figures, scientists, cultural figures and people of art.”