Are Jews Welcome In Serbia And Belgrade?

Two years ago, there was a story in The Jerusalem Post about how Jewish life was flourishing in Belgrade thanks to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), and thanks to many young people who were away during the Milosevic years and were coming back from Israel to Belgrade. Today, it looks like a visit to Belgrade provides a seminal moment in the development of a Jewish soul. Ariel Zipkin put up a blog over at OyChicago.com (An online community for Jews in the loop) about his trip to Belgrade. Here’s a short excerpt, but it’s worth reading the whole thing:

“I have never felt so comfortable and welcome anywhere in the world, besides Israel. This reminds me of the saying: “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh (All Israel is responsible for one another).” Not only does this saying describe the way we were treated in Belgrade, this exemplifies the mission of JDC and how they operate. The work that JDC conducts daily exemplifies the Jewish way of thought, the idea that we are responsible for one another. I am proud to be a part of a community that cares for people worldwide and feel fortunate to have had the experience to visit the unique and wonderful Jewish community in Belgrade.”

My take: If your Jewish identity means anything at all, I suspect you might find a visit to Serbia anywhere between quite interesting and life-changing. And if you haven’t been to Serbia, trust those who have. It’s that special. A visit to Belgrade can be one of the most rewarding and life-changing experiences in one’s life.

3 Comments to “Are Jews Welcome In Serbia And Belgrade?”

  1. Eva 10 March 2010 at 9:19 am #

    Thanks for sharing this. Reminds me of how many “parts” of Belgrade still remain unknown to me.

  2. Tzur 21 March 2010 at 5:53 pm #

    Must agree. I live in Belgrade and just till recently I didn’t pay much attention to origins… but I started wearing my kippa (yarmukle, if you will) and had no bad reactions from people. Not at all. The only reaction was “Oh, what is that, it’s really interesting” and talk would go in direction of how bad people feel about what happened to Jews in Belgrade during WWII when NAZI germany and Croatian Ustashe had control…
    I was amazed… Belgrade really got back on track being true European metropolis open for diversities…

  3. Karl Haudbourg 24 March 2010 at 1:12 am #

    Thanks Tzur for confirming what is said here. And yes, Belgrade is open for diversities. A part of Belgrade’s charm!


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