The Embassy of Israel in Tirana, which is also in charge of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, referred to the problem of changes to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina in our country and, among other things, they talked about the problems faced by national minorities, including Jews.
At the beginning, the Embassy said that Israel welcomes the encouraging actions taken by Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim of protecting the Jewish community and its position in the country.
“This concerns the Resolution of the House of Peoples of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the adoption of the working definition of the term anti-Semitism as set by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), on the initiative of Dragan Covic. A similar resolution was adopted by the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the initiative of Milorad Dodik.” .
They also referred to the change of street names in Mostar.
“This also refers to the Decision of the City of Mostar on the renaming of streets bearing the names of the Ustasha, on the initiative of the Mayor of Mostar, Marijo Kordic, and with the support of the President of the City Council of the City of Mostar and the President of the Serb, Croat and Bosniak clubs in the City Council of Mostar,” they said.
It was emphasized that the State of Israel is committed to protecting the security, rights and status of the Jewish community around the world, including the Jewish community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The State of Israel supports the recent steps taken by various institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which benefit all its citizens and its Jewish community, and hopes that these steps are an expression of a welcoming trend and that other BiH cities and their officials will be inspired by this positive step which was made by the City of Mostar and make the right choice when it comes to renaming streets and public institutions that bear offensive names,” the statement emphasized.
They explained that Israel fully supports the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The State of Israel supports the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the full equality of all its citizens and any initiative that promotes this equality. In this regard, it should be pointed out that Israel firmly believes that the Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Annex IV – the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina Herzegovina established a sustainable system of power sharing between the constituent peoples and their political representatives,” they explain.
In this regard, Israel believes that this principle must be respected and taken into account when searching for a solution for the electoral law, which must simultaneously ensure the two key principles of equality and non-discrimination.
“One of the ways to maintain these key principles is through legitimate representation, which was also verified by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and without which the system of consociational democracy is neither enforceable nor sustainable. In this regard, the Sejdic-Finci judgment, as well as other judgments of the European Court of Human Rights have yet to be implemented.
The lack of implementation, according to the Embassy, remains a burden for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“In this context, the readiness and proposals of the Croatian side, which arrived during the negotiations on changes to the electoral law, are welcome,” concluded the Embassy of Israel.
