BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 10. It is time for Israel to learn from Azerbaijan how to be adamant in the face of terrorism, Alex Kaplun, president and chairman of the Azerbaijan-Israel Chamber of Commerce, told TurkicWorld in an interview.
"Israel is going through hard days. Perhaps the hardest in the country's history. A real human tragedy is unfolding before our eyes. Our pain is difficult to put into words. In such moments, it is very important to feel the support of true friends. Over the past two days we have received dozens of letters, messages and calls from Azerbaijan," he said.
He noted that people bring flowers to the Embassy of Israel in Baku, light candles in memory of the fallen Israelis and words of support do not stop coming and truly warm hearts. He added that he continues to receive phone calls and messages from leaders of leading Azerbaijani companies and organizations, as well as from political and state officials at the highest levels.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Azerbaijani people for being concerned about us, thinking about us, trying to cheer us up and offering any help. Such things are not forgotten and are very dear. We are used to being strong," Kaplun said.
Kaplun noted that the whole world is used to seeing Israel as a strong country, and a high-tech, well-trained army.
"And this corresponds to reality. Israel is a small country, in which every man or woman understands from childhood that no one will protect our security and our independence but ourselves. We have a good army and it is well prepared to confront the enemy. However, our enemies are not prepared for a fair fight. They have only had the courage to attack civilians, babies sleeping in cradles, women, children and the elderly. Our enemies broke into people's homes in the early holiday morning and destroyed hundreds of families in a matter of hours. Never since the Holocaust have so many Jews been brutally murdered in just one day," he said.
According to Kaplun, Israel, over the years, has been an example of how a small country, with extremely complex geopolitics, can become so strong that neither small nor large neighbors will ever risk "dealing with it."
"Azerbaijan has achieved this and "explained" it very clearly to the whole world, and especially to its neighbors, in the last three years. I am sure that the time has come for us to learn from our Azerbaijani friends how firm and unyielding we need to be in the face of terrorism in order to protect our lands and citizens," he added.
Kaplun emphasized that terrorism does not need to be fought, it should simply be destroyed.
"Terrorism does not understand words, has no borders, and there is no concept of morality for terrorists - an armed thug from Gaza has no problem shooting a five-year-old boy at point-blank range or slitting a mother's throat in front of her three-year-old child. I have no doubt whatsoever that despite all the huge, immense pain, we will win. We are indeed strong, united people, and we realize that we have no choice. The victory will be ours, although the road to it will be difficult," Kaplun added.
According to Kaplun, it is very important that Azerbaijan receives truthful information about what is happening in Israel.
"That is why on the Chamber's page we are constantly publishing the most up-to-date and verified information on the progress of the hostilities. Once again, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you and express my hope that this war will end quickly and will be Israel's last war with the Hamas terrorist organization because at the end of this war, Hamas will simply no longer exist. And all the others who still thought it was possible to defeat the Israeli people will always remember the lesson they were taught," he said.
