The Conference of European Rabbis has canceled its upcoming convention, which was scheduled to take place early next month in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, citing security concerns.
The gathering, planned for Nov. 3-6, had been expected to draw about 600 participants, including rabbis, religious leaders, and political and social figures from Europe, Israel, the United States, and other countries. Organizers had already invested hundreds of thousands of shekels in preparations.
Chief Rabbis David Yosef and Kalman Ber were scheduled to attend, along with Israeli ministers Amichai Chikli and Amichai Eliyahu.
In a statement released earlier this year, the Conference of European Rabbis said the event would have been the first of its kind — a large-scale meeting of European rabbinical leaders in a predominantly Muslim country. The organization described it as “a living example that even in times of crises, conflict, and disinformation, cooperation, mutual respect, and shared commitment across religious and cultural boundaries are possible.”
The conference was to be held at the invitation of the Azerbaijani government and was intended to serve as a platform to discuss major challenges and perspectives on Jewish life in the modern world.
No further details were provided regarding the nature of the security concerns or whether the event would be rescheduled.