The Hill newspaper has published an article by famous Israeli writer Maayan Jaffe titled “Azerbaijan-Israel relationship is glimmer of hope, model for Muslim-Jewish peace”.

The author says that with the recent, tragic terror attack by Hamas in Jerusalem we become increasingly disillusioned about the prospects for peace in the Middle East.

“From one war to another in Israel. Chaos on all of its borders. Heightened anti-Semitic attacks by Muslims against Jews in Europe and now in the U.S. But inside the mess there is an almost striking glimmer of hope. And that is in the relationship between Israel and the Muslim-majority country Azerbaijan,” the article says.

In her article, Maayan Jaffe says in mid-September, Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan, Rafi Harpaz, met Azerbaijan ambassador to the U.S., Elin Suleymanov, for a tour of the Jewish East Coast, adding that the pair traveled together in New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, among other places, to talk about the close ties between the Jewish State and the Muslim country.

“Both countries feel equally close and supportive of the U.S., while simultaneously struggling with a degree of disenfranchisement. Still, the fact that Washington is keen on criticizing Azerbaijan much more than other nations in the region is hard to miss.  Even criticism of U.S. arch-enemy Iran is now less frequent than that aimed at America’s ally Azerbaijan. Moreover, the U.S. seems to be content with Azerbaijan’s neighbor, Armenia’s tightening domestic repression and its total surrender of sovereignty to Russia by joining the Putin’s Customs Union on humiliating terms. Azerbaijan is the first secular Muslim-majority country built on the principles of a Western-style democracy with a constitution that granted equal rights to all citizens, including voting rights for women,” the article says.

The author also says that the efforts to maintain a more open society in Azerbaijan are criticized as political pressure despite the lessons that should have been learned in recent years around the word.

“In an era when it seems the Jews are increasingly isolated and that Israel is often on its own in the battle for the eradication of Muslim extremism, it is comforting to know that Muslims and Jews can get along and that Israel has a partner in Azerbaijan,” the author added.