The President of the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Jakob Finci, said that the Jews of Sarajevo and BiH feel safe in their homes and explained the reason for the cancellation of the concert on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass).
“Given that the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH sent a dispatch to all security services in BiH, that for the purpose of protecting citizens as well as preserving cultural and religious objects, they should increase the presence of police officers in localities where objects of importance for the Jewish and Palestinian communities in BiH are located, as well as the increased level of anti-Semitism and the absence of a reaction to anti-Semitism from the competent authorities, we decided to cancel the event due to the fear that it will be misused for daily political events,” he stated.
Moreover, he stated that it is important to note that the event was not publicly announced, and not a single media outlet in BiH received information about the scheduling or cancellation of the event.
“In particular, we note that the leaders of Jewish organizations have repeatedly publicly stated that the Jews of Sarajevo and BiH feel safe in their home, however, the decisions we make are in accordance with the legal regulations and the circumstances in which the society currently finds itself.
We thank everyone for their understanding of this situation, and we hope that soon we will be able to gather again in order to promote diversity, understanding, and coexistence in our beautiful country together,” Finci concluded, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
