by Peter Lyukimson, Israel, exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
The Azerbaijan-Israel Association (AzIS), the Heydar Aliyev Fund, the Israeli Ministry for Immigrant Absorption and the Lod Mayor's Office have organized the marking of Azerbaijani National Leader Heydar Aliyev's birthday in Lod (Israel).
AzIs Director General Lev Spivak told Vestnik Kavkaza that May 10, the birthday of Aliyev, was on Saturday, when no events would be organized, so the celebrations were shifted to May 9. Spivak noted that hundreds of people in Lod had learned a lot of new information about Azerbaijan and the life and work of Heydar Aliyev, who established relations with Israel.
The celebrations started with the laying of flowers at a soldiers' memorial in Lod. Activists marking Aliyev's birthday went to Lafayette Gardens Park, where Professor Isaya Skvirsky, an expert in Azerbaijani history and culture, initiated an exhibition of Heydar Aliyev.
IYir Ravivo, the mayor of Lod, Yegyan Salman, chief rabbi of Hazan and director of the Azerbaijani Culture Center in Israel, Elvira Kolikhman, a member of the Lod City Council, and lawyer Ilana Leitman, head of the local AzIs office, made speeches. They emphasized the role of Heydar Aliyev in history, the breakthrough Azerbaijan made under his rule and the new image of Azerbaijan. The officials reminded that Aliyev had been meeting with Shimon Peres and started intensive contacts between the two states.
Turkish singer Elik Stambulsky became the highlight of a concert organized for Heydar Aliyev. He is a national hero in Israel. A few days after the Mavi Marmara incident, Stambulsky performed the "Nava Nagila" song on the Turkish TV, expressing his support for Israel. Spivak noted that Stambulsky had been performing Azerbaijani, Israeli and Turkish songs, cheering up people up in the park.
