Azerbaijan is a Jewish story written in three alphabets

Azerbaijan has long been home to a unique Jewish community, the Mountain Jews, who are neither Ashkenazi nor Sephardi. Their traditional language, Juhuri, has been written in Hebrew, Latin, and Cyrillic alphabets due to historical influences. The town of Qırmızı Qəsəbə (Red Village) in northern Azerbaijan, established in the 18th century, remains one of the few places outside Israel where Jews form the majority. During the Soviet era, Jewish life was suppressed, leading to clandestine practices, as evidenced by miniature tefillin displayed in the Museum of Mountain Jews. After Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991, religious freedom returned, though many Jews emigrated. The Jewish community has since played a crucial role in strengthening ties between Azerbaijan and Israel, with cooperation spanning oil, defense, and technology. Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Israel in March 2023, becoming the first Shiite-majority Muslim country to do so. The deep integration of Jews into Azerbaijani society is exemplified by figures like Albert Agarunov, a Mountain Jew posthumously named a National Hero of Azerbaijan for his service in the Nagorno-Karabakh war.