While most Americans haven't paid much attention to the South Caucasus, a quiet but bitter diplomatic controversy is brewing there—one that’s putting Israel’s foreign policy under an uncomfortable spotlight.

You might assume Israel would naturally side with Armenia: a Christian-majority country that suffered genocide in the 20th century and faces constant threats from larger, more aggressive neighbors. Sounds familiar, right?

Instead, Israel has chosen to deepen its strategic alliance with Azerbaijan, a wealthy authoritarian regime with close ties to Turkey and a long history of aggression toward Armenia. For Armenians—in Israel, in the homeland, and across the global diaspora—this feels like betrayal. And they’re not staying quiet about it.

Here’s why this alliance exists, and why it’s deeply troubling to many.

Oil, Drones, and Iran: The Geopolitical Calculus

Let’s start with the basics: Azerbaijan gives Israel three things Armenia can’t.

1. Oil
Roughly 40 percent of Israel’s oil comes from Azerbaijan. That’s not a detail—it’s a lifeline. A stable, overland energy route from the Caspian Sea to Israel via Turkey is critical to keeping the lights on in Tel Aviv.

2. Eyes on Iran
Azerbaijan shares a 428-mile border with Iran. That proximity makes it a prime staging ground for Israeli intelligence operations.
Multiple sources have confirmed that Israel operates surveillance drones, early warning radar, and possibly even special operations units from inside Azerbaijan—tracking Iranian missile sites, nuclear facilities, and IRGC movements in real time.

3. A Lucrative Arms Market
Israel is Azerbaijan’s second-largest arms supplier. In the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Israeli-made Harop suicide drones and Hermes surveillance aircraft helped Azerbaijan crush Armenian positions with devastating precision.
Arms sales to Baku total billions of dollars—and help fund Israel’s own defense research and development.

So while Armenia shares historical and cultural similarities with Israel, Azerbaijan offers cold, hard strategic value.

A Moral Contradiction

That’s the calculation in Jerusalem. But in Yerevan—and in the hearts of Armenians around the world—it’s seen very differently.

Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity, and has sheltered Jews for centuries without a history of antisemitism.
120,000 ethnic Armenians were forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023–24 in what many observers—including genocide scholars—called ethnic cleansing.
Despite this, Israel continued to arm Azerbaijan even as international human rights organizations sounded the alarm.
To add insult to injury, Israel still hasn’t formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, largely due to pressure from Turkey and Azerbaijan.

This has fueled growing anger—especially in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, where tensions between locals and nationalist Jewish settlers have escalated in recent years. Armenian clergy have reported being spat on, their property vandalized, and their historic land threatened by government-backed development deals.

In short: the world’s only Jewish state is cozying up to a regime accused of wiping out an ancient Christian population—and Armenian Christians are watching in disbelief.

Is Change Possible?

Some voices in Israel are calling for a shift.

Prominent Jewish academics, Christian leaders, and members of the Knesset have urged the government to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Western support for Armenia is growing, especially as it seeks stronger ties with the EU and NATO.
Azerbaijan’s increasing authoritarianism—and its alignment with Iran when convenient—may eventually force Israel to reevaluate.

But for now, realpolitik rules. And the message from Jerusalem is clear: strategic interests trump moral alignment.

Why Americans Should Care

This story matters far beyond the Caucasus. It’s a case study in the hard choices small nations make to survive. But it also raises uncomfortable questions for anyone who values human rights:

Should the U.S. and Israel continue to arm regimes that ethnically cleanse civilians?
How do we balance strategic alliances with moral leadership?
And when Christians in the Middle East cry out for help, who will stand with them?

Americans—especially Christians who support Israel—should take a closer look at what’s happening in Armenia. This isn’t just about oil, or Iran, or drones.

It’s about justice.

And justice should never be optional.

A senior Houthi official just gave a rare interview to Israeli media outlet Ynet, and the message was anything but ambiguous. In the official’s words:

“We want Israel erased and Al‑Aqsa Mosque purified… its end is a divine certainty.”

Let that sink in. While the world debates ceasefires and humanitarian corridors, the Houthis—already launching missiles toward Israel—are stating openly that the very existence of the Jewish state is unacceptable.

This isn’t just fiery rhetoric. It’s a chilling reminder that ideology—not just politics or borders—is at the heart of this conflict. The Houthis see themselves as part of the Iranian-backed "Axis of Resistance," and they are not shy about their end goal.

There’s no video or audio of the interview, and the official’s name wasn’t released—raising questions about sourcing. But the tone, language, and message are perfectly in line with the group’s stated doctrine. Their slogan literally reads:
“God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory to Islam.”

This is what Israel is up against—not just in Gaza, but from Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, and Tehran.

When someone says they want to wipe you off the map, believe them.

It was another blistering day down near the Gaza border — in more ways than one. As I stood on a familiar hilltop outside the town of Sderot, just two kilometers from the Gaza fence, the echoes of war were all around us. The dust clouds, the deep booms of airstrikes, the staccato of small arms fire — it’s not theoretical here. It’s live. And it’s real.

The View From the Front

Alongside my colleague Oscar Blue, I returned to the same overlook I’ve visited countless times since the war began. Today, we witnessed some of the most intense fighting to date. Just across the border in Beit Hanoun, Israeli Defense Forces are zeroing in on remaining pockets of Hamas resistance. Tanks and troop carriers moved back and forth, and jets screamed overhead. Israel is not letting up.

And yet, despite the active warzone just over the ridge, life in Israel continues. Families were out at pools and beaches enjoying Shabbat. Children played under the same skies where drones fly. This contrast is part of what makes Israel so remarkable. In the face of horror, life goes on. And buildings go up. The reconstruction in southern Israel is nothing short of miraculous. In Sderot and surrounding kibbutzim, new homes are rising, replacing those destroyed in the October 7th massacre.