It has been 50 years since the Hartagas, a Muslim family Sarajevo, saved the lives of their Jewish neighbors during the darkest days of the Holocaust.
Last week, some of that “debt” was repaid when Zajniba Hartaga-Susic, 76, and her family were evacuated from the war-torn Bosnian capital in a daring rescue operation spearheaded by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
Devout Muslims, the Hartagas provided refuge to three Jewish families during World War II. The Kabilios, who made aliyah in 1950, brought the Hartagas’ actions to the attention of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem with honored the family as Righteous Gentiles in 1985.
“It was then,” says Zajniba, “that I fell in love with Israel.”
Over the years, the Hartagas and Kabilios have corresponded whenever circumstances permitted.
Though the elder Kabilios are now deceased, Tova (Kabilio) Grinberg, who was a small child at the start of the Second World War, has a box full of treasured photographs and letters from the Hartagas that span more than half a century.
She is especially close to Zarfa, Zajniba’s older daughter and a childhood friend, who is still in Sarajevo.
In 1992, at the start of the Yugoslav civil war, Tova invited the Hartagas to Israel for a second visit. Zarfa’s daughter and grandchildren were able to leave Sarajevo, and flew to Israel for a three-month say.
Such visits soon became impossible, however, as the civil war intensified. Sarajevo residents became virtual prisoners in their homes, due to sniper fire from warring factions surrounding the city. During the past two years, thousands have died from wounds, hunger and disease.
Despite the efforts of the United Nations and other relief organization to gain safe passage for the neediest refugees, only a few thousand people have been rescued since the fighting began.
Evacuating the Hartagas proved to be especially difficult, says JDC field operator Eli Eliezri, because “it is very hard, and dangerous, to get Muslims through Serbian checkpoints.”
But Eliezri, who has led nearly a dozen rescue operations in the Yugoslavia, says, “We were determined to get the Hartagas safely out of Bosnia and to Israel. This was a special case because they are special people. It is a kind of payback for the assistance they gave Jews.”
Last week, Hartagas learned that they would be among the 280 people traveling out of Sarajevo in the JDC’s rescue convoy. They packed up a few belongings – photographs an old clock and some borrowed clothes – and bid farewell to their country.
“There is no going back,” Aida, Zajniba’s younger daughter, said on her arrival in Israel. “We don’t intend to return to Bosnia, even if there is peace. Israel is our home now.”
Aida spoke from her new home in the Mevasseret Zion Absorption Center. Just a few days after arriving in Israel, the Hartagas – Zajniba, daughter Aida, Aida’s Serbian husband, Branumir, and 10-year-old granddaughter, Stella – are already beginning to settle in.
Perched on a mountain a few miles outside Jerusalem, the sprawling center, which is run by Jewish Agency, houses 200 new immigrant families, including several from the former Yugoslavia.
Though their apartment and its furnishings are modest, the Hartagas call their new home “paradise.” Having spent two years with virtually no electricity, it does not occur to them to turn on the lights as the sun goes down.
“I’m sorry. I forgot we have electricity,” Aida tells a visitor with an embarrassed smile. “We’ve gotten used to living without lights and heat. Firewood in Sarajevo is extremely scarce and expensive. To prepare our last meal, I burned a pair of shoes, and that provided enough fire to cook dinner.”
Though the war has been difficult for everyone, Aida says, “it was especially hard for mother.” Sitting next to her daughter on a donated sofa, Zajniba points to her right leg, which was amputated many years ago.
“I was afraid to take off my prosthesis, even when I went to sleep, for fear there would be a bomb and I would have to move around quickly,” she says. “It hurt all the time.”
Though she finds it difficult to get around, using a cane and sometimes a wheelchair, Zajniba, a tall, thin woman with short gray hair, nonetheless insisted on visiting Yad Vashem on Monday, three days after arriving in Israel.
Sitting beside Tova Grinberg, in front of the tree that had been planted in the Hartagas’ name nine years before, Zajniba smiled as an Israeli government representative presented her with a certificate of honorary citizenship.
The family will also receive a monthly stipend and favorable loan terms, thins usually reserved for Jewish immigrants who have made aliyah under the Law of Return.
“Emotionally, leaving Sarajevo wasn’t all that difficult,” says Zajniba, back in her apartment following the ceremony. “I had been to Israel in 1985 and spent a month here. At the time I looked carefully at how the young people lived at the customs of the country.
“When it came time to make a decision, I tried to do what was right for my daughter and her family. They are young and need a fresh start. I also have many friends here, and at my age, all I need is peace, nothing else.”
Aida says that the family is eager to integrate quickly into Israeli society. “My husband and I plan to begin Hebrew ulpan classes next week, and we have enrolled Stella in the neighborhood school, where she will meet other Israelis and learn the language.”
Asked why Stella, a Muslim, is not attending school in the Arab sector, Aida says, “I am Muslim but my husband is Serb. Our lives go beyond religious and ethnic identities. Stella is our future, and the needs to be at the heart of Israeli society.”
According to Shira Ozer, the director of the absorption center, “All of the Yugoslav families are motivated to put down roots. They’ve been here less than a week and already want to plant flowers in the garden, to learn Hebrew and get jobs.”
Unlike many of the families from Sarajevo, however, who have little or no knowledge of Judaism and Israel, “the Hartagas know a great deal about Jewish customs,” Ozer says.
By way of example, Ozer relates how “a CBS-TV film crew arrived at the center wishing to interview the family right before Shabbat. I went into the family’s apartment and told them there was a film crew outside.
“Zajniba asked me to apologize to the crew, saying that she could not do the interview at that time because it would be disrespectful to her Jewish neighbors. She asked them to come back after Shabbat, and they di,” Ozer says.
Ultimately, it was this inherent respect for others that led the Hartagas to save Jewish lives.
“It was normal,” says Zajniba, who seems embarrassed by the media attention and overwhelming outpouring of affection by strangers. “In Sarajevo we have a saying: `If your neighbor is a good person and needs help, you must help him.’ What more is there to say?”
Her main concern now is “to find a way to repay everyone’s kindness.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
