Yaron Weiss from Israel: I am ashamed that my country is arming Azerbaijan for money

The interlocutor of Alpha News is an Israeli public figure, expert on the Caucasus Yaron Weiss:

-First of all, thanks for your efforts, for all the actions you have initiated for Artsakh. May we ask you, please, tell us what have been done so far?

– We are a group of activists. We call ourselves The Allies of Armenia. What we try to do is to influence the Israeli media and to tell the story of the people of Artsakh. The situation in Israel is very hard because the media is influenced by the government, by group of interests and by huge Azerbaijani lobby in Israel. It seems that they are afraid to tell people what is going on, especially when Israel has responsibility of what is happening because Israel used to sell weapons to Azerbaijan. So, we try to influence the media. Last week, there was an article in one of the most popular newspapers in Israel about the situation in Artsakh. One of the people who was interviewed for this article was a good friend of mine who lives in Stepanakert. A few days before, there was another article in the most popular Internet media. We try to give the stories, to break the walls of the media because people in Israel should be aware of the situation especially when Israel is guilty of what’s going on. Last week, we also wrote a letter to the Israeli president. A few months ago, he visited Baku where he met with the dictator Aliyev. The letter was signed by tens of intellectuals, journalists and well-known figures of Israel. We urged him to use his influence on the Azeri regime, to stop the besiege and open the Lachin corridor. Until now, he didn’t respond to our letter, but we are not surprised. All the time we try to put a pressure so that people in Israel will know what is going on. Because it seems that the Israeli government and Israeli media don’t want people to know about the situation in Artsakh.

-Even Armenian community in Israel is not this much active as you. We would like to understand your reasons. Why you are sensitive on Armenia-Nagorno Karabakh issues?

– Actually, I travelled a lot to Armenia and also to Artsakh. I’ve been to Artsakh many times before the war. I visited many villages, many places. I have a lot of friends. I also worked as a tour guide, bringing Israeli groups to Armenia. But Artsakh is part of my heart and I feel as part of Artsakh too. I even visited Artsakh three times after the war by the permission of the government of Artsakh. So, in this kind of situation, I feel like my homeland is under attack. Because I see my friends as a family and Artsakh as my home, even though I’m not Armenian, I’m Jewish, I feel emotionally connected to Armenia and Artsakh. My mission as an Israeli citizen is to fight for Artsakh and support it. Our group, The Allies of Armenia, cooperates with the Armenian communities. There has been only one protest yet, in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was a small one. But we are planning to make another protest in cooperation with Israeli groups, one which fights against selling Israeli weapons to dictatorship and the other one which supports refugees, as well as with the Armenian community. Our mission is urge Israeli government to influence Azerbaijan and stop the blockade of Armenian population.

– When Israeli state thinks that it serves its interests by providing weapons to countries that create humanitarian crises, countries that indiscriminately target civilians, and commit grave violations of human rights- it is a heart-breaking violation of your mission. If more voices stand for Artsakh in Israel, could be any change there?

– Unfortunately, most of the people in Israel are not aware that these weapons destroyed lives of ten thousands of people. The Israeli weapon industry does it for money. They explain that the relationship with Azerbaijan is strategic because the situation with Iran forces Israel to be allies with Azerbaijan, since Iran is the enemy of Israel. But as we know, Israel sold weapons to many dictatorships in Asia, Africa, and South America. We know that the main reason is money. What we try to do is to explain to the people that the weapons, that Israel is selling to dictatorships, destroy civilizations. This is what happened three years ago in Artsakh when most of the Artsakh territory was occupied by Azerbaijan and many people became refugees. It seems that the majority of Israelis don’t know about it. This is very sad. I’m very ashamed that my government, my country does it for money, not to mention that people who are now in control of Israel are grandsons and granddaughters of Holocaust survivors. Unfortunately, this is the reality.

– Should we wait for any new actions, any new protests in support of the people of Artsakh?

– As I told before, we are planning to hold a demonstration in cooperation with Armenian communities and other Israeli groups in the beginning of September. We want it to be a huge demonstration. You know, during the 44-day war, we had a demonstration of 500 people. So, I hope we will continue to do the same in the near future.

– If you have anything to add, maybe for the Armenians under blockade in Nagorno Karabakh, the floor is yours.

– My friends and my family of Artsakh, it is a hard time. But I’m sure that the truth and the good people will survive this situation. We remember the common history of Jewish and Armenian people who succeeded to survive a lot of genocides and catastrophes. And we are still here. I know that it is a hard time now but as soon as possible the situation will change. And I’m sure we will meet again in Stepanakert and, I hope, in Shushi too. I’m with you, my friends.