Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and his wife Sarah met with children at the Azerbaijan Ohr Avner Chabad Jewish Day School today, where they spoke with the students about many topics, including the weekly Torah reading and the miracle of Chanukah. “We hope you come to Israel, to visit and to stay. We are waiting for you,” Mrs, Netanyahu told them.

Prime Minister Netanyahu recalled the advice he took from the Lubavitcher Rebbe many years ago, that still inspires him today.
“Thirty-two years ago, I met the Lubavitcher Rebbe for the first time when I went as Israel’s ambassador to the UN. ‘You are going to the house of darkness,’ he told me. ‘Remember that if you light one candle of truth, you ignite a precious light that will be seen far and wide.’ Ever since then, I have been trying to do exactly what the Rebbe told me.

“The Rebbe taught us to love every Jew and every person, and here in Azerbaijan there is both Ahavat Yisrael and Ahavat Adam.”

He noted that Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and his son Heydar have set up a fund that supports Jewish education in Azerbaigan, a Muslim country, which the state of Israel also contributes to.

The Prime Minister pointed to the Israeli and Azerbaijan flags hanging next to each other. “Look at these two flags, that’s what we show the whole world–what could be and what should be. It’s just the opposite of the darkness, that light is penetrating the darkness. This is the spirit that guides us in Israel, in Azerbaijan, in Chabad, and eventually, God willing, in other places around the world, too . . .”