Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Dec. 13, 2016 (Photo: Haim Zach/GPO)

BY YARON WEISS

The Israeli government’s support for Azerbaijan is unacceptable and disgraceful. Many Israelis are concerned about the cooperation between Israel and one of the darkest dictatorships in the world. Earlier this year, Zehava Galon, one of the leaders of the opposition in Israel, accused Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s Defense Minister, as a “foreign agent” collaborating with the government of Azerbaijan.

Many Israelis feel empathy and solidarity towards Armenia. The two nations have suffered genocide. Armenia is a small country surrounded by enemies as Israel. However, the Israeli government’s policy is the opposite of the feelings of Israeli citizens. It seems that the Israeli government sells its values for money.

Netanyahu warned the world that Iran is a dangerous country and threatens to exterminate Israel. He demands to impose sanctions on Iran. But at the same time, he sells weapons to Azerbaijan who threatens Armenia.

Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia is similar to Iran’s aggression against Israel.

Even in the past, Israel has sold weapons to dictatorships. As a result, oppressed nations began to hate Israel. Everyone remembers the cooperation between Israel and South Africa during apartheid regime. It is no coincidence that South Africa’s Goverment is hostile toward Israel.

In the seventies, Israel sold weapons to the Shah of Iran. Later, the weapons turned against Israel. This is what is likely to happen with Israeli weapons in Azerbaijan.

Two months ago, I visited in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), and met a courageous and determined people. Nothing in the world will change the fact that Artsakh has been and will be forever Armenian. No drones and no sophisticated weapon systems can subdue the courage of the Armenians. We will continue to demand that the Israeli government stop selling weapons to Azerbaijan. We will continue to demand that the Israeli government will adopt a moral foreign policy. It is proven that relationships between countries based on shared values persist for a long time.

We have seen in the past that giving priority to material interests alone without moral partnership do not hold for long. I believe that in the end, common sense will prevail.

The question is, how many victims will there be until that time?