ZELL: CVIJANOVIĆ'S POWERFUL SPEECH IN JERUSALEM

WASHINGTON, JUNE 23 /SRNA/ - The Serb member of the Presidency of BiH Željka Cvijanović delivered a powerful speech at the International Policy Summit in Jerusalem that represented an extraordinary rapprochement of Jewish and Serbian historical memory and a clear warning about the threats that free societies are facing today, said American lawyer and political activist Marc Zell.

He recalled on "X" that both the Jewish and Serbian peoples have suffered persecution, expulsion, demonization and systematic attempts to erase their historical experience. "The Holocaust and the genocide at Jasenovac - one of the most horrific concentration camps in occupied Europe, where Serbs, Jews and Roma were systematically exterminated - share a common lesson: hatred begins with words, continues with discrimination, and ends with violence," Zell said. When it comes to the issue of sovereignty, Zell assessed that Cvijanović's message was unambiguous: that no nation can survive if it must ask its enemies for permission to exist. "Republika Srpska will not allow others to define who the Serbian people are, what Srpska represents, or where its place should be. That right belongs to the Serbian people alone," Zell wrote. He recalled that Cvijanović spoke about a topic that the Western world prefers not to discuss openly, which is the fact that thousands of mujahideen from the Middle East, North Africa and Asia came to BiH during the war in 1990s, and that many of them remained there. "Their ideological influence continues to shape segments of social and political life of BiH. The roots of this vision, Cvijanović noted, can be found in the writings of Alija Izetbegović, who wrote that between an Islamic political order and non-Islamic institutions, there can be neither peace nor coexistence," Zell noted. He pointed out that Cvijanović reminded those present in her address that BiH is the only country in modern Europe where an unelected foreigner assumes the right to introduce and change laws, dismiss democratically elected representatives, change the constitutional order and prohibit citizens from opposing such decisions in court. "Electoral rules changed on election day itself. Constitutional arrangements rewritten to form preferred coalitions. Elected officials removed through politically motivated proceedings with no constitutional basis. These are not hypotheticals - they are reality of BiH," Zell said. He recalled that Srpska chose a different path after October 7, 2023 when it comes to Israel. "Its institutions, political leadership and people understand the security challenges Israel faces - because they share a simple principle: no nation can survive if it is expected to tolerate those who seek its destruction," Zell stressed. He echoed Cvijanović's words, which "resonated deeply in Jerusalem," that democratic societies must cooperate more closely than ever and stand together in defense of freedom, and that the future belongs to those who have the will to defend it. "A powerful voice for sovereignty, historical truth and Western values - speaking in Jerusalem, at one of the most important Jewish policy forums in the world," Zell concluded.