Canada Must Also Recognize Khojaly Genocide

In a recent webinar, Rabbi Shmuel Simantov proclaimed: “These numbers do not tell the full extent of the tragedy.  There are no words to describe how they killed people off. They broke into homes and killed people in their sleep. They murdered children. They slaughtered pregnant women. It breaks the heart to hear about such cruelty. Even after 29 years, it is the same pain as it was yesterday.” Rabbi Zamir Isayev related that he will never forget the shocking pictures from that era.  

Rabbi Elisha Lagransky concurred: “Life is the greatest gift that we all have that G-d gave us. There were 613 people that were massacred in Khojaly. That is the same number of mitzvot that we were given in Mount Sinai. The mitzvot are our lives. Most of the mitzvot however can be set aside to preserve human life. That is because life is the most important thing that G-d gave us. The Armenians not only murdered the 613 people. They also murdered their potential descendants that could have come after them. They did it very cruelly too. We will never forget this.”  

In an official statement, Vaad L’Hatolas Nidchei Yisrael, an American Jewish organization, proclaimed: “The innocent residents of the city of Khojaly died only because they were Azerbaijanis, and we recognize this terrible atrocity as a crime against humanity and genocide.” 

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin also recognized the Khojaly genocide: “On this day, we must ask ourselves honestly, is our struggle against genocide effective enough?  Was it effective enough then in Bosnia?  Was it effective in preventing killing in Khojaly?”