THE HILL: Why a photo should give Trump and the US hope in the Middle East?

By Rabbi Abraham Cooper

A photo of two leaders shaking hands appeared last week. And the world did not really take notice. It was of the recent visit of the Prime Minister of Israel to Azerbaijan, a majority-Muslim secular country surrounded by Iran, Russia and Turkey. 

A picture that does say a thousand or more words.  A picture that perhaps the leaders of US and other nations should take notice of. A Jewish and Muslim leader sharing not just a handshake but a friendship and huge over $5 billion-dollar economic bond. The symbolism of this visit is as noteworthy as it is remarkable. 

This coming in a year that saw Arab and Muslim nations support 22 anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations while the rest of the world’s nations ‘earned’ just 4. UNESCO voted to essentially erase Jewish history, by labeling Judaism’s holiest sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron as exclusively Muslim.

Yet just this past week, there was a photo seen around the world of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev shaking hands and meeting in Baku, two leaders working together to chart a course for their people that is diametrically opposite to the revisionism and cynicism of so much of the rest of their global neighborhood.

In my work 40 plus years working around the globe fighting intolerance and promoting human dignity, 2016 has to go down as a particularly disturbing year—perhaps the most challenging since the height of the Cold War.

The endless suffering of the civilians in Syria, transmitted live by social media, failed to stir the consciousness of what seems to be a largely distracted and unconcerned world. Throw into the mix, the American presidential election which had all the dignity of a mud wrestling match. And social media was hijacked by ISIS and American neo-Nazi groups, peddling their unique brand of toxic hate and mayhem.

And by and large, religion, which is about bringing healing and blessings to humankind, was used as a scapegoat to justify the worst humanity has to offer. And in the geo-political landscape there hasn’t been much to celebrate, with power grabs by China, Russia, and Iran as the US continued to ‘lead from behind.’

I can say this having only recently visited with the other person involved in this historic meeting – President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan. As I watched these events unfold, I saw pictures of communities and presidential ceremonies that I was part of just weeks before. 

All this spurred a rigorous personal debate for me as to the importance and complexity of global alliances and friendships and most importantly, what it meant in a region where leaders are not prone to taking risks for peace.

I know from my extensive travel to Asia and Europe how difficult it is for different cultures to find a common purpose and engagement. And I have learned from my four decades of work for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, such differences can only be overcome by leaders ready to take risks.

Actually, I am very upbeat about the potential for this model of a relationship to foster greater engagement around the region and world.

Because there is great value in the shared values that preceded the high-profile meeting. I know, I experienced those values myself. It is by the virtue of those values and partnerships, based on tolerance and inclusivity, that made it possible to premiere the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s UNESCO exhibition, “People.Book.Land The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People With The Holy Land”, in Azerbaijan’s capital city of Baku, on September 29, 2016.

The program, which displays the history of Jewish people as it connects to the Holy Land, and what is known today as the State of Israel, is on its own quite simple; a modest historical exhibition representing various points of Jewish history - from Patriarch Abraham to hi-tech Waze. Yet the fact that it took place in a majority-Muslim nation within a tumultuous region, is quite profound.

Azerbaijan is a country I have been visiting for decades, even prior to its independence. Azerbaijan has long stood apart as a touchstone for interfaith and multicultural harmony, and considering the status of global human relations, the implications of that example have never carried more weight.

During the same visit, I met with the President of Azerbaijan. We spoke candidly about the scourge of global anti-Semitism. I thanked the President for building on Azerbaijan's longstanding traditions of interfaith tolerance and harmony; qualities that were emphasized by his late father, President Heydar Aliyev - the founder of modern Azerbaijan.

For me, my last visit also gave me the opportunity to savor a Shabbat in Baku, amongst friends and in an outwardly welcoming society; to speak to thousands of international leaders at a forum about the power of Teshuva, “forgiveness and change”; to share with my American Muslim friend Mahomed Khan a prayer from the Koran at the opening of our Jewish exhibition; to join with other American interfaith leaders as they watched Sunni and Shia prayer together at the nation’s largest mosque.

Against the backdrop of hate and terrorism, and growing numbness towards violence, it is most appropriate that this gathering took place in a country where “conscious engagement” is no mere slogan, but a call to action.

The People.Book.Land exhibition in Baku is one example of that engagement; of partners and programs forming, no matter the risk that shows that when shared values can be embraced, major change can come to a signifiant portion of the world.

As 2017 begins, there is no question as to whether or not that change is needed or risks need to be taken. The question that remains is how willing are we to stand up and do the work.

Although the last 40 years have brought significant change, there is still much work to be done. We must make a choice to act and leave a legacy based on respect, justice, and loving kindness. For all of us, may 2017, and the next 40 years to follow, be a time when many more leaders and individuals, communities and nations fight for the timeless cause of inclusion, partnership and peace.

Rabbi Abraham Cooper is the Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish human rights nongovernmental organization.

THE HILL