YEREVAN, Armenia – Chief Rabbi of Armenia Gersh Meir-Burshtein participated in a working session of the Armenian Assembly of America, which opened in Yerevan on October 22nd, as well as a festive banquet that began soon after Shabbat ended. During the feast and the subsequent meeting, the Chief Rabbi shared a conversation with the Head of the Assembly, Anthony Basramyan of Boston, who was pleased to speak about his close contacts with Jewish organizations in Boston.
Rabbi Burshtein also took this opportunity to meet with religious leaders of the Armenian Diaspora, with whom he discussed issues concerning inter-ethnic and inter-religious tolerance in the upbringing of the younger generations and of their respective congregants. Rabbi Burshtein told Armenian leaders about a recent trip to California, where Glendale is home to one of the largest Armenian Diasporas.
As he spoke to the Assembly's participants – which included prominent figures of culture and intelligentsia – the Jewish leader once again expressed his wish for the Armenian and Jewish communities to become closer to one another, especially given the commonalities between the cultures of these two ancient peoples. "Isn’t it a coincidence that in ancient times, long before the foundation of Armenia as a separate political-territorial entity, one of its kingdoms was called 'Biaynli'. The syllabic spelling this word, as Bi Ayn Li, has quite an Aramaic-Hebrew sound to it," explained Rabbi Burshtein.
Just two weeks ago, the city of Yerevan, which had grown around the historic Erebuni Castle, marked its 2787th anniversary.
This latest meeting represents one of many incidents where leadership of the Jewish community of Armenia has promoted positive dialogue and greater understanding with other ethno-national communities and religious organizations represented in the country.
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