Azerbaijani Community in Israel Celebrate Nowruz

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Celebrating Nowruz which means "New Day."

This week, a special holiday was celebrated in Israel as well as in Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan. It is an ancient holiday, celebrated in these countries even before their inhabitants converted to Islam, and its origin is from the Zoroastrian religion. We are, of course, referring to the Novruz holiday, pronounced as “Nowruz” in Persian or “Novruz” in Turkish, which means “New Day.”

The holiday stems from the celebration of the arrival of spring and the New Year, marking the vernal equinox, when day and night are equal in length, and after that, the days begin to lengthen. The Zoroastrian religion spoke much about good and evil, darkness and light, and Novruz symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and the blooming, fertility, and agricultural abundance that are characteristic of the spring season, which begins just after the holiday celebrations.

Although the holiday’s origin is not in Islam, Muslim Persians, as well as other Muslims who lived under Persian rule, such as Azerbaijanis, continued to celebrate it even after their conversion to Islam. It is an ancient holiday that preserves a culture no longer present today. The fact that this holiday is celebrated in Azerbaijan as well teaches us about the close historical connection between Persians and Turks, which raises a significant question about the current attitude of the Iranian government towards the Turkish and Azerbaijani populations within Iran.

As mentioned, among all the many countries where Novruz is celebrated, Israel stands out. In Israel, the only Jewish state in the Middle East, a festive event was held to mark the holiday for the Azerbaijani-Jewish community. The event took place in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya at the city’s cultural center on the evening of March 25, 2025.

Firstly, it is interesting to observe the Azerbaijani-Jewish celebration of the holiday, which has non-Jewish origins, even after immigration to Israel. Secondly, Novruz was also celebrated by other Jewish communities before they immigrated to Israel, such as the Persian Jews from Iran, the Afghan Jews, and the Bukharan Jews (from Uzbekistan), but within these communities, the holiday was not celebrated officially and as publicly as the Azerbaijani community celebrated it this year. From this, we learn that Azerbaijani citizens in Israel maintain their culture and traditions and never forget where they came from in the Jewish state.

The event celebrating Novruz held in Netanya was titled “Spring is Coming!” During the event, the organizers tried to make the guests feel as though they had suddenly arrived in Azerbaijan, whether through the food, the music, or the language spoken around them. The event began with the presentation of the life story of the Azerbaijani-Israeli singer Layla Valayev, who, despite being born and raised in Israel, continues her family’s tradition, speaks Azerbaijani fluently, and sings Azerbaijani songs out of her love for her family’s culture and homeland.

Layla Valayev made the audience rise to their feet and begin dancing to familiar Caucasian tunes that excited and delighted the guests. After her performance, the “Sevgi” ensemble took the stage and continued to excite and thrill the crowd. Later in the event, a quiz about the Azerbaijani community in Israel and Azerbaijani culture was held. The winners of the quiz received traditional Azerbaijani cultural items as prizes.

The prizes were: Kelaghayi – a traditional silk scarf for women, adorned with unique patterns, usually hand-made. This item of clothing is considered a symbol of femininity, honor, and elegance in Azerbaijani culture. Arahchin – a small, round traditional hat, which was primarily worn by men but sometimes also by women. And Novruz Khonchas – a festive tray of Novruz holiday sweets, including nuts, fruits, baklava, Shekerbura, and green sprouts (which, although not sweets, symbolize renewal). This is a central item in the Novruz celebrations; even when the tray is empty and does not carry all the holiday sweets; it is used as a traditional decoration.

It is hard to watch this event without thinking about the wide Azerbaijani diaspora around the world. We hope that other Azerbaijani communities will be able to celebrate their holiday publicly and without any need to hide or conceal their identity. The state of Azerbaijan maintains a direct and continuous relationship with the Azerbaijani diaspora communities around the world through the State Committee for Work with Diasporas, which is equivalent to Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, and its head holds the rank of a minister.

Just about three years ago, in June 2022, the Chairman of the State Committee for Work with Diasporas, Fuad Muradov, visited Israel. During his visit, Muradov met with Israeli government officials and discussed Israeli-Azerbaijani cooperation. Furthermore, Muradov met with prominent Azerbaijani émigrés and members of the Azerbaijani community in Israel. One of them was Rabbi Shmuel Simantov, who immigrated to Israel from Azerbaijan and is currently the rabbi and public emissary of the Azerbaijani Jewish community in Tel Aviv, Israel. Rabbi Simantov claimed that Muradov came to Israel to honor the thirty years of relations between the two countries.

During that visit, Fuad Muradov visited Rabbi Simantov’s synagogue in Tel Aviv and honored him and his community as an official representative of Azerbaijan, who does not forget its sons and daughters, even when they realize the vision of the prophets and live in the Holy Land. The most important issue related to the Azerbaijani diaspora around the world and the State Committee for Work with Diasporas is the preservation of the Azerbaijani language and culture. According to the prevailing view in Azerbaijan, if an Azerbaijani living in any country around the world preserves their culture and language and does not hide their Azerbaijani identity, they serves as the best ambassador for Azerbaijan.

When members of the Azerbaijani diaspora meet people from different backgrounds (or from different diasporas) in countries with diverse immigrant communities, such as the United States or Western European countries, they will cause those people to love the Azerbaijani people and, by extension, their country. Thus, new connections will be formed between Azerbaijan and other nations worldwide. The most notable example of this is the Jewish community in Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani-Jewish community in Israel. Jews in Azerbaijan enjoy equality of rights, religious freedom, the freedom to express themselves, and the ability to visit relatives in Israel. The Azerbaijani-Jewish community in Israel, as we saw during the Novruz celebrations this year, can practice their cultural traditions, display their heritage publicly, and speak (and sing, of course) in their native language. One can say that the Azerbaijani-Jewish community in Israel is one of the best examples of the Azerbaijani diaspora that truly fulfills the vision of Heydar Aliyev, the father of the Azerbaijani nation, who conceived the idea of maintaining the connection between Azerbaijan and its diaspora communities worldwide.

At the end of the Novruz celebrations in Netanya, Israel, last week, singer Layla Valayev congratulated the event organizer Saadat Sukurova, Vice President of Aziz and head of Kanal 24, who organized the Azerbaijani performance that so deeply moved the audience: “Saadat Khanum (a Persian/Azerbaijani word for ‘madam’) always values young people and helps them take the right path. I believe that I will once again take part in bigger stages, gaining great strength from Saadat Khanum’s hard work at this concert. I really gained great strength from this concert. The fact that the audience in the hall applauded me and asked me to sing songs again gave me great hope for the future. Being on stage with the flags of both states (Israel and Azerbaijan) is proof of my happiness!”

We are left to wish the Azerbaijani community in Azerbaijan, Israel, and the rest of the diaspora a happy Novruz holiday!