Menachem Z. Rosensaft, adjunct professor of law at Cornell Law School and general counsel emeritus of the World Jewish Congress, has sharply criticized Amir Gross Kabiri, the CEO of Mostar’s Aluminij, against whom Vladimir Andrle, president of the Jewish Cultural, Educational, and Humanitarian Society “La Benevolencija,” has filed a complaint with the Federal Police Administration.
“I am appalled that Amir Gross Kabiri, an Israeli businessman who has initiated operations in Mostar in recent years, not only intends to sabotage the positive relations between Jews and Bosniaks that exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) but also attempts to undermine the important role of Vladimir Andrle, president of ‘La Benevolencija,’ born in Sarajevo, who represents the future of the small but extremely important Bosnian Jewish community long excellently led by Ambassador Jacob Finci,” Rosensaft stated.
Rosensaft noted that Kabiri appeared on the scene in 2020 “when he took control of the insolvent aluminum factory in Mostar and became one of the city’s largest employers.”
“The following year, he was appointed vice president of the local football club whose fans are known for expressing ultranationalist Croatian political sentiments not only from the 1990s but also from the fascist and antisemitic era of the Independent State of Croatia during World War II under the Ustase regime. In 2022, Kabiri became the leader of the small Jewish community in Mostar, allegedly consisting of about 30 members. All of this hardly qualifies Kabiri to be a legitimate voice for Bosnian Jews,” Rosensaft emphasized.
“We have seen a series of disturbing efforts by Israelis like Kabiri, who seem to side with Milorad Dodik in his attempts to revive ethnic conflicts from the 1990s, including the recent opposition to the long-overdue decision of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare July 11th as the International Day of Reflection and Remembrance of the Genocide in Srebrenica in 1995. These individuals should be isolated as purely marginal figures. BiH and the Bosnian Jewish community need constructive and courageous leadership from Vladimir Andrle, and initiatives designed to undermine him are despicable if not worse,” he declared, N1 reports.
