It has become a good tradition to celebrate Nowruz in Israel. Each year, the event is organized by the Israel-Azerbaijan Association (AzIs), natives of Azerbaijan come together from all over Israel to celebrate the holiday of spring, friendship and love. This year the association 'AzIs' did not violate these traditions, but the festival received entirely different connotations. The first day was a wonderful evening "for natives" with favorite treats, music, dancing and wheat sheaves, which adorned each table, tied with red ribbons. At the initiative of the First Deputy Mayor of Afula, Michael Barkan, the main event took place a few days later. It was unusual and special, at least in the number of organizations that united for the event.
The preparations and holding of the big celebration in the central square of the city of Afula were attended by municipal structures, the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the association AzIs, the association of people from Kazakhstan and Central Asia and the Embassy of Kazakhstan. Among the honored guests were representatives of the embassies of Turkey and Uzbekistan in Israel.
"It is the first time an event of this scale has been held in Israel," the director general of AzIs, Lev Spivak, said before the start of the holiday. "I have no doubt that everything will be fine, bright, fun and beautiful. But this is not important. The main thing is that representatives from many countries came here, and all of us were united by Nowruz."
"People often ask me if Nowruz Bayram is our New Year's Eve, which one is it in the row? The onset of which year are you celebrating? To be honest, it's such an ancient holiday that everyone has strayed from the account," the ambassador of Kazakhstan to Israel, Dulat Kuanyshev, joked in his opening remarks. "And what's the difference? It is important that we all find a new spring! All together! We in Kazakhstan are well aware of this. This year we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan. On the territory of our country there are more than 100 ethnic groups, so we know very well that, without inter-religious dialogue, neither peace nor friendship is possible."
What happened on March 27 on Afula's central square was a shining example of the above statements. The common celebration united people better than any professional diplomacy. The audience received the famous Bukhara ensemble performances of the Akilova family with delight, favorite songs were sung by Azerbaijani native Tomer Aliyev, while Kazakh, Tajik and Turkish dances of a wonderful children's ensemble and other colorful performances enriched the concert program.
After the completion of the festivities in the square, AzIs invited its distinguished guests from Turkey, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the Azerbaijan cultural center. Here they were met by a welcoming hostess - the director of ASC Yegana Salman - and Michael Barkan, who invited everyone to a festive table with Uzbek pilaf, dolma and Azerbaijani sweets.
