Serbian Jews Show Solidarity With Israel

Jerusalem, 12 October, 2023 (TPS) -- While Jewish communities around the world mobilize to assist Israel, a delivery of humanitarian aid from Serbia’s Jewish community is especially moving. The approximately $10,000 worth of humanitarian aid set depart from Belgrade is gesture of appreciation after Israel sheltered Serbian Jews during the Balkan country’s civil war in the 1990s.

“After all these years, I have Israel in my heart, and I will never forget what Israel and Israeli people did for us. We want to help Israel today and always,” Mirjana Kranjac, a member of the Serbian Jewish community told the Tazpit Press Service.

Kranjac, who today teaches at the University of Novi Sad in northern Serbia, recalled bringing her two children to Israel during the Balkan country’s civil war.

“I left behind my elderly parents, and my dear husband in Serbia. We took off from Belgrade airport early in the morning, and somebody gave us a speech that I will never forget about what Israel did for us,” she said.

“We were in Ra’anana, and we got all we needed,” Kranjac recalled. “We spent three months there until the end of the NATO bombing of Serbia.”

Asked how Serbs view the war in Gaza, Kranjac said perspectives vary because of the country’s multi-ethnic makeup.

“Ethnic Serbs have mixed views, depending on whether they relate to the conflict through their own experiences or simply judge by the distressing scenes they see in the news,” she said.

She noted that many of Serbia’s approximately 1,400 Jews have relatives living in Israel, keeping bonds between the two countries strong.