Amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict, Jews and Muslims came together in Bosnia to jointly observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
The January 27 gathering in the town of Srebrenica also paid tribute to the Srebrenica massacre, the only recognized genocide in Europe since the Holocaust, where Bosnian Serb forces killed thousands of Bosnian Muslims and expelled many more civilians during Bosnia’s ethnic war.
Both Jews and Muslims have faced persecution, and this commemoration emphasized the importance of unity in their pursuit of peace.
“Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Jews are one body, our ties are intricate, forged in hard times and times of prosperity and interaction,” said Husein Kavazović, the grand mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Islamic community, to a group of survivors and descendants affected by the Holocaust and the Srebrenica genocide.
Jewish and Muslim communities have endured suffering and in the face of rising antisemitism and Islamophobia globally, it is crucial to renew the vow to be good neighbors and support each other,” Kavazović stated.
Jacob Finci, president of the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, advocated for the United Nations to recognize July 11 as a day of remembrance for the Srebrenica massacre, similar to International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.
“While we cannot change the past, we can work together to shape a better future,” said Menachem Rosensaft, a professor at Cornell Law School and general counsel emeritus of the World Jewish Congress, who was born to Holocaust survivors in a refugee camp in Germany.
After the event, the two community leaders signed the Srebrenica Muslim-Jewish Peace and Remembrance Initiative, committing to honor and remember genocide victims and combat bigotry during challenging times.
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