The Jerusalem Cantors' Choir, conducted by David Israeli and managed by Yair Plesser, completed a week-long tour of Azerbaijan that included performances, community events, and visits with local Jewish institutions.
The choir's tour featured a festive concert at the Mountain Jews Museum in the Jewish village of Quba in northern Azerbaijan, home to one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited Jewish communities, dating back to the Babylonian exile.
The event was attended by ambassadors, diplomats, community leaders, and members of the Jewish community, including Israeli Ambassador Ronen Kraus. The choir performed a program of traditional cantorial music, prayers, Israeli songs, and Middle Eastern melodies, accompanied by the choir's pianist, receiving an enthusiastic response from the audience.
Later in the tour, the choir was invited by Rabbi Shneur Segal, the Chabad emissary in Baku, to perform at a bar and bat mitzvah ceremony held at the city's Ashkenazi synagogue. The event also marked the third day of Tammuz, the anniversary of the passing of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and included performances of songs about Jerusalem and Chabad melodies.
The following day, choir members visited the Or Avner Jewish School in Baku, where Rabbi Segal spoke about Jewish life and communal activities in the Azerbaijani capital. During the visit, the choir met with members of the local Jewish community, who welcomed the delegation from Jerusalem.