The Jewish Community of Yugoslavia

Samuni Notera Et HaKramim ("Keeper of the Vineyards" - in Hebrew. Words from Song of Songs 1:6,2:10-11)

Original recording from Neve Midbar Oasis: Jewish Yemenite Women's Songs and Israeli Songs. Produced by Beit Hatfutsot in 1995.

The composer uses asymetric rhythms and unexpected shifts of meter, possibly under the influence of his native country: Yugoslavia.

Text by Dr. Avner Bahat, originally published by Beit Hatfutsot in Neve Midbar Oasis: Jewish Yemenite Women's Songs and Israeli Songs CD booklet.

Aladar Kaszab (1868-1929), industrialist and philanthropist, born in Szucsi, Heves county, Hungary (then part of Austria-Hungary). After graduating from the Franciscan order's secondary school at Gyongyos, he studied in other countries for seven years. In 1894, he established the Kaszab Industrial company in Budapest. In the course of time the company became an important factor in Hungarian industry. In 1924 he founded a similar factory in Yugoslavia. Kaszab contributed generously to a number of philanthropic causes, and in 1911, he was appointed him Councilor of the Court. He was vice-president of the National Industrial Association, vice-president of the Hall of Commerce, president of the commission on Unfair Competition, and trustee of the Center for Customs Policy in Budapest. In 1925 he founded the "Kaszab Aladar es Jozsa Polyclinic", a dispensary for the sick and poor, which operated as an annex of the Jewish Hospital of Pest. In 1928 he was elected president of the community.

Kaszab died in Budapest. He left his estate partly to the Jewish community of Pest and partly to the Hungarian Academy of Arts and Sciences in order to finance cultural and welfare work.

Beno (Benjamin) Ruso (1920-2006), partisan and lieutenant general in the Yugoslav Army, born in Bitola, North Macedonia (then part of Yugoslavia). He attended the high school in Bitola, but left and started working in a mechanical workshop. In Bitola he joined Hashomer Hatsair Zionist movement and took part in a preparatory camp (hachshara) in Novi Sad in 1938, and then in Golenic (now in Croatia). He was drafted in the Yugoslav army in 1939 and captured by the Germans during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941. He managed to escape the POW camp and joined the partisan movement. Ruso became a member of the Communist Part of Yugoslavia and became the political commissar of a battalion and of 1944 of 10th Macedonian Brigade and then of the 42nd Division of the People’s Liberation Army of Yugoslavia. After WW II he continued his studies, attending the Juro Djakovic Political School and then the Higher Military Academy graduating in 1952. He held several commanding positions with the Yugoslav army, including commander of the Skopje Military District and commander of the Territorial Defense of Skopje. When the leader of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito died in 1980, Ruso was a member of the honor guard at his state funeral. Beno Russo died in Skopje, North Macedonia, in 2006. 

Beno Ruso married Rosa Kamhi, Rafael kamhi's niece, a Holocaust survivor who served as Minister of Trade and Industry in the government of Macedonia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 

Slovenia

Republika Slovenija - Republic of Slovenia

A country in central Europe, member of the European Union (EU). Until 1991 part of Yugoslavia. 

21st Century

Estimated Jewish population in 2018: 100 out of 2,100,000.  Main Jewish organization:

Jewish Community of Slovenia
Phone: 386 (0) 31 376 468
Email: office@jewish-community.si  
Website: https://jewish-community.si/

Croatia

Republika Hrvatska  - Republic of Croatia, a former Yugoslav republic, member of the European Union (EU). 

21st Century

Estimated Jewish population in 2018: 1,700 out of 4,200,000

Koordinacija židovskih općina u Republici Hrvatskoj (Coordinating Committee of the Jewish Communities in Croatia)
Phone: 385 1 4922692
Fax: 385 1 4922694
E-mail: jcz@zg.t-com.hr
Websites: www.zoz.hr` www.croatian-jewish-network.com

 

North Macedonia

Republic of North Macedonia
Република Северна Македонија

A country in the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe.  It became an independent state in 1991 after the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Also known as: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia
Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина

A country in southeastern Europe in the Balkan peninsula, until 1992 part of Yugoslavia. 

21st Century

Estimated Jewish population in 2018: 500 out of 3,500,000.  Main Jewish organization:

La Benevolencija - The Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Phone: 387 33 229 666
Fax: 387 33 229 667
Email: la_bene@open.net.ba

Serbia

Република Србија / Republika Srbija - Republic of Serbia

A country in southeastern Europe in the Balkan peninsula, a former Yugoslav republic.

21st Century

Estimated Jewish population in 2018: 1,400 out of 7,000,000 (0.02%). Main umbrella organization of the Jewish communities:

Savez Jevrejskih Opština Srbije (Federation of Jewish Communities of Serbia)
Phone: 381 11 262-1837
Fax: 381 11 262-2674
Email: office@savezjos.org
Website: www.savezjos.org

Montenegro

Црна Гора, Crna Gora

A country in western Balkan peninsula on the Adriatic Sea, until 2006 it was a member republic of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

 

21st Century

Estimated Jewish population in 2018: less than 500 out of 600,000

The Jewish community of Montenegro was established in 2011 and Judaism was recognized as an official religion in the country in 2012. There are several religions represented in Montenegro: Catholicism, Eastern-Orthodox Christianity, Islam and Judaism. There is great respect for Judaism with around 400-500 Jews living in the country and an active community.

The government  of Montenegro has shown its generosity towards the Jews and has provided land to build synagogues. There is a Jewish burial place in the Kotor cemetery in good condition and well maintained.

Jasa Alfandari, the former president of the Jewish community of Montenegro, was a central figure in reestablishing the Jewish community of Montenegro and the wider Balkan area. In 2019 the first chief rabbi of Montenegro was elected. For more than two years, Rabbi Ari Edelkopf served as the rabbi of Montenegro’s Jewish community when he was nominated chief rabbi.

The first cornerstone for a synagogue in the Montenegro region in centuries was laid in 2017. At this event were present prominent religious and political Montenegrin representatives. A sukkah built in 2017 in Rabbi Edelkopf’s yard was for many of Montenegro’s Jews the first they had seen.

The Jewish community of Montenegro is represented in the Mahar Conference of the Balkan region. The Mahar conference of 2018 was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Jewish state and included a Tu Bishvat seminar. A request was made for more events on ecology and Judaism.

Main Jewish organization:

Jewish Community of Montenegro
Phone: 382 20 622930
Mobile: 382 69 560 878
Email: jevzajcg@gmail.com
website: www.jevzajcg.me

 

HISTORY

Jews lived in the area of Montenegro in ancient times and in the Middle Ages. A few Jewish cemeteries seem to have existed in the area of today’s Montenegro. Their whereabouts are not known. Jewish historical places include Duklja and Ulcinj. The Jewish historical site Duklja consists of remains of an ancient Roman trade center close by to the capital city Podgorica. A Jewish grave was found with two skeletons from the end of the 3rd beginning of the 4th century, ornamented with various motives such as a menorah.

During the Middle Ages mostly Sephardic Jews lived in today’s Montenegro area which was ruled by the Ottoman Empire.

At the beginning of the 17th century Shabbatai Zevi who proclaimed himself messiah lived in Ulcinj. This town borders Albania and is the location where Shabbatai Zevi died in 1676. His grave is thought to be located there in the yard of a Muslim family. In her book Traces of Jews in the Bay of Kotor, Lenka B. Celebic presents the impact of the Jewish community in the area on the development of commerce.

After the occupation of parts of present day Montenegro by Austria in the 19th century, Jews resettled mostly in the area of Kotor.

 

The Holocaust

Yugoslavia was occupied by German, Hungarian, Italian, and Bulgarian forces in April 1941. Many citizens of Montenegro hid Jews from the Nazis and helped the Jewish people. From September 1943 to February 1944 the Gestapo rounded up Jews and deported them to concentration camps.

Dubrovnik

In Italian: Ragusa

A port town in Croatia, in the former Yugoslavia. Dubrovnik was a free city-state known as the Republic of Ragusa, however it was tributary of the Ottoman Empire from 1382 to 1804. It was occupied by the French Revolutionary forces and then by those of the Austrian Empire. Between 1815-1919 Dubrovnik was part of Austria. From 1919 until 1991, Dobrovnik was part of Yugoslavia.

After the Spanish expulsion in 1492 many refugees passed through on their way to the Balkan cities under Turkish rule. They settled in Dubrovnik and others joined them from the southern Italy expulsions in 1514-15. Their success in commerce caused repeated expulsion orders, which were revoked on the intervention of the Sultan. The Jews dealt mainly in fabrics, silk, wool, leather, and spices. In 1546, a ghetto was established which was enlarged 40 years later when there were 50 Jews, some with their families. Among them were doctors in state service who needed special permission from Rome to treat Christians.

The most important Jewish family in the 16th and 17th centuries was that of Rabbi Aaron b. David Ha-Kohen from Florence, Italy, who established trade connections with Jews throughout Europe. In 1614, the Senate gave concessions to the Jewish merchants to entice them to settle in the city. Due to a blood libel against Isaac Yeshurun in 1622, most Jews left for Turkey or Venice and only four families remained in Dubrovnik. The church increased its pressure, directing local hatred against the Jews, but the Turkish sultan stood by them and refused to pass anti-Jewish measures.

In the 18th century the Jewish population increased; there were 218 Jews out of a total population of around 6,000. The archives mention Jewish schools, teachers, weddings, and a Jewish book seller. Jews played a part in international commerce and were pioneers in marine insurance. With the economic decline of Dubrovnik restrictions were imposed on all foreigners, and because of this the Jews were forbidden, in 1755, to deal in commerce, and had to live within the ghetto. Under French rule (1808- 15) all the restrictions against the Jews were annulled.

When Dubrovnik passed to Austria in 1815, laws applied to Jews in Austria became valid in Dubrovnik too, for example, Jews had to obtain permission from Vienna to get married. Full emancipation was only granted in 1873.

When after World War I Dubrovnik became part of Yugoslavia, the Jewish population had decreased.

There were 308 Jews living in the city in 1815, and 250 in 1939.

The Holocaust Period

Dubrovnik was occupied by the Italian army in April 1941 and administered by the independent Croat State of Croatia under the Quisling Pavelic. Jewish property was confiscated. The Italians, however, did not allow mass deportations, so many refugees from other parts of Yugoslavia went to Dubrovnik. In November 1942, under German instructions, the Italians interned 750 Jews on the nearby island of Lopud; from there they were moved in June 1943 to the camp at Rab in north Dalmatia with most Jews from Italian-occupied territories in Yugoslavia. During the brief interregnum between the fall of Italy and German occupation, many Jews were transported by the partisans to the liberated territory on the mainland. The rest were sent by the Germans to concentration camps.

After the war, 28 refugees from Dubrovnik settled in Israel. In 1969, 31 Jews lived in Dubrovnik, their rabbi serving as chief rabbi for South Dalmatia, Herzegovina, and Montenegro. From time to time, prayer services are held at the old synagogue.

During the war between Bosnia and Croatia at the beginning of the 1990’s the synagogue was damaged in a bombardment. The building was repaired and renovated after the war by the community.

In 1998, 30 Jews lived in the community of Dubrovnik. Dr. Bruno Horowitz, a native of Stanislavov, Ukraine (formerly Poland), served as head of the community.

Csepel

A small town on the island Csepel on the river Danube, today Csepel is the 21st district and a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. 

Until the end of the 19th century Jews did not live in the town because of the opposition of the inhabitants, the majority of German origin, as well as because of a lack of opportunities to make a living. In 1893, a well- known Jew, Manfred Weisz, set up factories, mainly in the metal branch, which exported world-wide. Many Jews found employment in his enterprises. There were only a few merchants and tradesmen. Many worked in nearby Budapest.

Relations between the Christians and the Jews were generally good.

The workers were in some form or organization in the socialist- democratic party, which was not anti-semitic.

The community was organzied in 1898 and was affiliated to the nearby town, Soroksar, and in 1940 to the town of Pestszenterzsebet. The Csepel community had a hevrah kadisha (burial society), and a women's society. A house of prayers was built in 1930.

In 1930 the community numbered 638.


The Holocaust Period

In 1943 Jewish men were conscripted for forced labor. They were first sent to Budapest and then to Yugoslavia where they were employed preparing air field. Some of them were sent to the camp in Bor.

On May 10, 1944, the remaining Jews were assembled in the industrial area where they were kept without water and no sanitation facilities. Jews from the surroundings were also held here, totaling some 3,000. On June 30 they were all transported to Auschwitz.

After the war, 80 Jews returned to Csepel. They renewed communal life and reorganized the hevra kadisha (burial society) and women's society. The original house of prayers was destroyed and replaced in 1946 by a new one in the former Culture House. The Holy Ark of the Dunaharaszti community which was destroyed, was brought to Csepel. A plaque was erected, bearing the names of the martyrs. In 1949 a memorial to the martyrs was dedicated.