Shimon Ohayon, the director of the Dahan Center at Bar-Ilan University, addressed a letter of gratitude to the rector of Azerbaijan University Languages , academician Kamal Abdulla. The letter is as follows:

Dear Prof. Abdullayev,

On my own behalf, and on behalf of the Dahan Center at Bar-Ilan University, and the Ashkelon Academic College,   I would like to thank you for your welcome cooperation in organizing the conference together with Dr. Ravan Hasanov, director of the International Multiculturalism Center,  on the Heritage and Culture of the Jews of the North-Eastern Caucasus, held on Wednesday-Thursday, August 30-31, 2023, at your university, the Azerbaijan University of Languages.

Indeed, not only did we enjoy cooperation in constructing the rich program for the conference, but also the amazingly warm hospitality, which gave us the pleasant feeling that we were among friends. Your concern for every detail, and your response to our requests, went beyond all expectations.

As soon as the conference closed, we received very positive reactions to the conference, its content, and the pleasant surroundings in which it took place. I have no doubt that the conference’s success has served to enhance relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State of Israel.

To the areas of security and economic cooperation has now been added that of academic ties between us, and the academic conference held at your university is only a starting point. It is our intention to prepare a volume of papers in Hebrew and in English, based on the lectures at the conference. We would therefore like to invite Prof. Jala Garibova to be one of the editors, along with Prof. Dan Shapira from Bar-Ilan University, and Prof. Rachel Sharabi from Ashkelon Academic College.

Together with us, Prof. Zehavit Gross, Dean of the Faculty of Education, will promote the idea of cooperation in joint academic courses. Once we have met with the Rector of the university, we will send you an update regarding progress.

We at the Dahan Center would be pleased to host a further conference in Israel, with the participation of researchers from the university which you head, as well as other researchers from Azerbaijan. To this end we will be in contact with you to develop the conference and arrange for its being hosted in Israel.

Once again, our thanks to yourself and to Prof. Jala Garibova, and to all of the staff of the University of Languages, for your cooperation and the amazing hospitality on your campus.