Remembering Albert Agarunov, the Jewish hero of Azerbaijan
Half a year ago, a monument to the Jewish hero of Azerbaijan was unveiled in the capital of multicultural and tolerant Azerbaijan. The day was a particularly special day for the country’s Jewish community and for Jews worldwide who know the story of decorated war hero Albert Agarunov.
On that day in Baku, an enormous statue of Agarunov was unveiled with military honors before a crowd of government and community leaders and the broader community and foreign guests who had come to celebrate one of the greatest Azerbaijani-Jewish heroes.
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Some traveled from afar to attend the ceremony, including Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center; Commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and President of Congress of Christian Leaders Rev. Johnnie Moore; Rabbi Shlomo Amar, former chief Sephardi rabbi; and several other rabbis from Europe, the US and Latin America, as well as state senators from the western US.
Killed at age 23, Agarunov lived a short but glorious and heroic life. He is loved and honored in Azerbaijan. He is a genuine hero and a model of the courage of our people. Azerbaijanis will always honor his memory. A brave tank officer, according to his friends, Agarunov was devoted to his country and was killed pushing his courage and determination to the limit.
He was born into a Mountain Jewish family in the village of Amirjan, near Baku. His family was originally from a famous Jewish village in Azerbaijan – Qirmizi Qasaba (Red Settlement) in Quba and had moved to Amirjan in search of a better life.
Agarunov began his military career in the Soviet army, but soon found himself wanting to give back to the country he loved and knew all his life. I think that most people in the world have never heard the name of this Jewish national hero from Azerbaijan, a secular Muslim country.
This Azerbaijani-Jewish hero went to extraordinary lengths to defend his tank battalion against an onslaught of Armenian tanks. He was a good friend, a renowned sharpshooter and a proud defender of his homeland. The unique story of his life is infused with great pride and respect for his country, a nation ingrained with an unparalleled standard of interfaith engagement, which continues to honor and celebrate Agarunov’s courage and heroism.
