Sarajevo Jews Become Target of Police Campaign Against Community

Jews in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo have been hit by an apparent campaign against the community and its leaders, according to the president of the Jewish community there.

Communal leaders contacted by telephone said police had arrested and interrogated a number of Sarajevo Jews, some of whom hold dual Bosnian-Israeli citizenship.

Local police “are truing to discredit leading persons in the community. We are a totally unpolitical organization,” said Ivan Ceresnjec, who added that the authorities seemed intent upon establishing that Jews had been conniving with the enemy.

The Muslim-dominated Bosnian government, led by President Alija Izetbegovic, has been fighting rebel Serbs since 1992 to maintain a unified, multiethnic Bosnia. It has recently renewed an alliance with independent Bosnian Croat militias.

Local Jewish leaders are viewing the police action with grave concern – particularly since the Jewish community has strived to maintain the trust of all parties in the ongoing conflict, providing humanitarian assistance to whomever needed it, regardless of religious affiliation. The campaign reportedly began on July 14, when a car with four Jewish passengers was searched and its occupants d detained for “informative talks.” The vice president of Sarajevo’s Jewish community, Danilo Nikolic, was subsequently held for five days, during which he was interrogated 10 hours a day. Sonya Elazar, head of a Jewish women’s organization in Sarajevo, has also been questioned. Elazar is the niece of the late Lieut. Gen. David “David” Elazar, the Israeli chief of staff during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

All those arrested were subsequently released, but police also seized passports and communal documents. Seeking the return of the passports and papers, Ceresnjec met with the Bosnian prime minister, Haris Siladzic, and the chief of state security, Nedzad Ugljen. An aide to Ugljen said he was not available for comment. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem said Wednesday they knew nothing of the arrests.

Siladzic assured communal leaders that the police action had been an “unfortunate” episode and that the documents would be promptly returned.

“But I waited for two weeks, and nothing happened,” said Ceresnjec. “They have since returned some of the papers.”

Ceresnjec said allegations by Bosnian officials that Jews were acting against Bosnian national interest were “totally unfounded.

“We are helping civilians on all sides. All parties have expressed their gratitude for what we are doing. We have been literally risking our lives to save lives,” he said.