CANCELLATION OF CONFERENCE A SELF-GOAL FOR BiH

SARAJEVO, JUNE 12 /SRNA/ – The President of the Jewish Community of BiH Jakob Finci strongly criticized the decision to prevent the European Rabbis Conference from being held in Sarajevo, calling the move a self-inflicted blow for BiH, and expressed concern over antisemitic comments on social media.

Finci believes that the cancellation of the conference will have serious consequences for the country's reputation, especially highlighting the reaction of the Conference of European Rabbis, which condemned the decision and called on the EU to revoke BiH's candidate status. "With this, BiH is showing that it may not be part of Europe, which is a serious blow to our reputation," Finci emphasized. Speaking about antisemitic comments on social media such as "host the rabbis and bury them at the Jewish cemetery" or "call Sarajevogas when they arrive," as well as linking the conference with Gaza, Finci stated that these are completely unacceptable and must not be ignored or treated as isolated incidents. In a statement for Slobodna Bosna, Finci said that BiH has long taken pride in the equality of religions, often describing Sarajevo as a “small Jerusalem,” and that the current message from Sarajevo seriously damages the country’s image. He concluded that the recent developments portray BiH as a country where people are not equal, reminding of the judgment he won against BiH more than 15 years ago at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Regarding the relationship between the Jewish and Palestinian communities in BiH, Finci stressed that the two groups have traditionally maintained good relations. "Today, we have very good relations with Palestinians living here, who have acclimated to Bosnian conditions," Finci said. Due to the rhetoric from Sarajevo, the European Rabbis Conference (CER), which was scheduled to take place in Sarajevo, was canceled, announced the President of the Conference, Pinchas Goldschmidt, who also called for BiH to be barred from EU membership. Goldschmidt explained that the CER Standing Committee meeting was to be held next week in Sarajevo, with chief rabbis from across Europe – including France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom – set to meet and discuss the most pressing issues facing European Jews today, including matters of freedom of religion or belief.