Azerbaijan chooses Mountain Jewish singer as Eurovision 2025 entry

Asaf Mishiev, 32, is reported to be well known in Azerbaijan's Jewish community, which numbers around 30,000 people.

By MATHILDA HELLER FEBRUARY 13, 2025 11:06

Asaf Mishiev in an interview with Azeri TV channel ITV Seher (photo credit: Screenshot/Instagram)

A Mountain Jewish singer has been chosen to represent the Muslim country of Azerbaijan in this year's Eurovision Song Contest. 

Asaf (Safael) Mishiev will be performing as part of his Baku-based band, Mamagama, in which he is the frontman and soloist. 

Mishiev, 32, is reported to be well known in Azerbaijan's Jewish community, which numbers around 30,000 people, according to Rabbi Zamir Isayev, the chairman of the Georgian-Jewish community of Azerbaijan, in an interview with JNS in 2023.

In 2013, Mishiev won a Mountain Jewish music competition, and he also reportedly gave singing lessons to children and teenagers at the Jewish Community Club in Baku.

Magama to perform at Eurovision 2025 @mamagama_official (credit: Screenshot/Instagram)

Speaking to Ynet on Wednesday, Mishiev said, "I know Hebrew and sing a little in Hebrew at home. I love Israeli musicians like the Mercedes Band, Asaf Avidan, and Yael Naim."

"I went to a Jewish school in Baku and visited Israel twice - the first time as part of the Taglit program, and the second time for a music competition for Jews from around the world, where I represented Azerbaijan and won."

He added that he would be very happy if Israelis voted for him at Eurovision. 

Furthermore, while he said he is proud to represent his country, he also said he feels that he "represents the entire Jewish people."

He extended support to Israel's entry, Yuval Rafael, who survived the Nova massacre, saying, "I wish her success - with all my heart."

---

---

Roman Gurevich, honorary ambassador of the Jewish Agency in Azerbaijan, said, "Jews have always been loved in Azerbaijan."

"Now Azerbaijan is an important and loyal ally of the State of Israel. The choice of a Jewish singer is yet more proof of this," Gurevich added. 

Mishiev will be the second Mountain Jew to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, following in the footsteps of Israel's Sarit Hadad, who represented the Jewish State in 2002.

Jews in Azerbaijan 

Jewish civilization in Azerbaijan dates back over 2,000 years, according to the Jewish Chronicle. Some early reports suggest Jews arrived as early as the eighth century BCE, but others suggest the 5th.

Mountain Jews or Juhurim speak the Judeo-Tat language (Juhuri). The other Jewish communities in the country include Ashkenazi, Bukharian, Georgian, and Kurdish. 

Azerbaijan is also considered to be the home of the last remaining shtetl - dubbed 'Red Village' - a village in the Quba District, which is widely believed to be the world's only all-Jewish town outside of Israel and the US, according to Jewish and Azeri news sites.

The Jewish community has grown stronger since Azerbaijan broke away from the Soviet Union, and the country opened an embassy in Israel last year. 

Azerbaijan is considered by some to be the most secular Muslim-majority country in the world, with an estimated 97% of the population being Muslims. Jews constitute 0.1%.