Shneor Segal

Rabbi Shneor Segal is the chief rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community of Azerbaijan and the official emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Baku. He came to the capital of Azerbaijan from Israel over fifteen years ago, and since then his life has been inseparably linked with the development of Jewish religious and cultural life in the country.

Under his leadership, a Jewish school and kindergarten were opened in Baku, a mikvah was established, and the kosher restaurant 7/40 began operating — the first and only one of its kind in the South Caucasus region. Each of these projects is not just an institution, but a step toward creating a full-fledged Jewish infrastructure in a Muslim-majority country, where the Jewish community has lived in peace and harmony for centuries.

In 2025, Rabbi Segal was elected to the Kol HaAm council under the President of Israel — an advisory body representing Jewish communities from around the world. This appointment is a recognition of his role not only as a spiritual leader in Azerbaijan, but also as a significant figure in the global Jewish dialogue.

Rabbi Segal has been received by President Ilham Aliyev, which underscores the high level of trust between the Jewish community and the Azerbaijani state. At the same time, his path has not been without challenges: in 2025, an Iranian assassination plot targeting him was uncovered, which only confirmed his importance as a symbol of successful Jewish-Muslim coexistence.

His dream is to build a major Jewish community center in Baku — a space that would become a point of attraction for Jews from across the region and a symbol of tolerance in the modern world.