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The history of the
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
in
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
is some two thousand years old. The Jews first arrived in the region during
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
times. The Jewish communities of the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
remained small until the late 15th century, when Jews fleeing the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
Inquisitions found refuge in the Ottoman-ruled areas, including Serbia. The community flourished and reached a peak of 33,000 before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(of which almost 90% were living in Belgrade and Vojvodina). About two-thirds of Serbian Jews were murdered in
The Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, having been particularly targeted as Hitler sought to punish both ethnic Serbs and Jews for German defeat in World War I. After the war, a great part of the remaining Jewish Serbian population emigrated, chiefly into Israel. In the 2011 census only 787 people declared themselves as Jewish. Today, the
Belgrade Synagogue Sukkat Shalom Synagogue or Belgrade Synagogue (Serbian: Београдска синагога / Beogradska sinagoga) is currently the only fully active Jewish place of worship in Serbian capital Belgrade, as other synagogues citywide are not activ ...
and the
Subotica Synagogue hu, Jakab és Komor téri zsinagóga, Szabadka , image = Synagogue in Subotica.jpg , alt = , caption = Subotica Synagogue in 2020, after renovation , map_type =Serbia , map_size ...
, once the fourth largest synagogue building in Europe, are the two in-service synagogues, while the
Novi Sad Synagogue Novi Sad Synagogue ( sr, Новосадска синагога or ) is one of many cultural institutions in Novi Sad, Serbia, in the capital of Serbian the province of Vojvodina. Located on Jevrejska (Jewish) Street, in the city center, the synag ...
has been converted into a cultural art space.


History


Ancient times

Jews first arrived on the territory of present-day Serbia in
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
times, although there is little documentation prior to the 10th century.


Ottoman rule

The Jewish communities of the Balkans were boosted in the 15th and 16th centuries by the arrival of Jewish refugees fleeing the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
Inquisitions.
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
Bayezid II Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...
of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
welcomed the Jewish refugees into his Empire. Jews became involved in trade between the various provinces in the Ottoman Empire, becoming especially important in the salt trade. In 1663, the Jewish population of
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
was 800. While the rest of modern-day Serbia was still ruled by the Ottoman Empire, territory of present-day
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...
was part of the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
. In 1782, Emperor
Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...
issued the
Edict of Tolerance An edict of toleration is a declaration, made by a government or ruler, and states that members of a given religion will not be persecuted for engaging in their religious practices and traditions. The edict implies tacit acceptance of the religio ...
, giving Jews some measure of religious freedom. The Edict attracted Jews to many parts of the Monarchy. The Jewish communities of Vojvodina flourished, and by the end of the 19th century the region had nearly 40 Jewish communities.


Independent Serbia and Habsburg Vojvodina

Many Jews were involved in the struggle of Serbs for independence from the Ottoman Empire, by supplying arms to the local Serbs, and the Jewish communities faced brutal reprisal attacks from the Ottoman Turks. In 1804, when
Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Петровић, ), better known by the sobriquet Karađorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Карађорђе, lit=Black George, ;  – ), was a Serbian revolutionary who led the struggle for his country's independ ...
's forces invaded the fortress of Smederevo from the Ottomans, the Jews were expelled from
Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...
and
Požarevac Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čačalica (208m). As of 2011, ...
. The independence struggle lasted until 1830, when Serbia gained its independence. After Belgrade was liberated, the Jews fell victim to decades of discriminatory taxes and restrictions on the choice of residence. During the liberation of Belgrade, contrary to the strict orders issued by Serb leader Karađorđe, some of the rebels destroyed Jewish shops and synagogues. Some Jews were killed and a part of them was forcibly baptised. At the same time in the interior of Serbia rebels expelled Jews from towns and small places.


House of Obrenović

With the reclamation of the Serbian throne by the Royal House of Obrenović under
Miloš Obrenović Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name Sportsmen * Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower * Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer * Miloš Budaković, Serbian f ...
in 1858, restrictions on Jewish merchants were again relaxed for some time, but only three years later they faced isolation and humiliation. In 1861 Mihailo III inherited the throne and reinstated anti-Jewish restrictions. In 1839, Jews were forbidden to open shops on Sundays and during Serbian holidays, causing them great damage because their shops were closed on Saturdays and all Jewish holidays. In 1877 a Jewish candidate was elected to the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
for the first time, after receiving the backing of all parties."News in Brief", ''The Times'', 22 February 1877"Servia", ''The Times'', 22 February 1877 In the 1860s-70s, a part of Serbian newspaper began publishing anti-Jewish articles resulting in threats being raised against the Jews. In 1862, a fight broke out between the Austrians and Serbians and Jews in Belgrade had their rights revoked, similar to local uprisings in the 1840s. In 1879, the "Serbian-Jewish Singer Society" was founded in Belgrade as a part of the Serbian-Jewish friendship. During World War I and World War II the choir was not allowed to perform. It renamed " Baruch Brothers Choir" in 1950 and is one of the oldest Jewish choirs in the world still in existence. The choir remains a symbol of community unification, although only 20% of the choir members are actually Jewish due to the dwindling Jewish population in the country (in World War II, half of the Jewish population of Serbia was killed). By 1912, the Jewish community of Kingdom of Serbia stood at 5,000. Serbian-Jewish relations reached a high degree of cooperation during World War I, when Jews and Serbs fought side by side against the Central Powers. 132 Jews died in the Balkan Wars and World War I and in their honour a monument to them was erected in Belgrade at the Jewish Sephardic cemetery. The waxing and waning of the fortunes of the Jewish community according to the ruler continued to the end of the 19th century, when the Serbian parliament lifted all anti-Jewish restrictions in 1889. Jews in modern-day North Macedonia got their full citizen rights for the first time when the region became a part of
Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
. Image:Wiki.Vojvodina VII Subotica 4599 10.jpg,
Subotica Synagogue hu, Jakab és Komor téri zsinagóga, Szabadka , image = Synagogue in Subotica.jpg , alt = , caption = Subotica Synagogue in 2020, after renovation , map_type =Serbia , map_size ...
(now restored and in use) File:Az adai zsinagóga képeslapon.jpg, Synagogue of
Ada, Serbia Ada ( sr-cyr, Ада; hu, Ada) is a town and municipality located in the North Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated near the river Tisa in the geographical region of Bačka. The town has a population of ...
, 1900 File:Sinagoga u Kikindi.JPG, Synagogue of
Kikinda Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; hu, Nagykikinda) is a city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia . The city urban area has 38,069 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 59,453 inhabitants. The c ...
House of Winterstein family. Jewish temple was in this house.jpg, House of Winterstein family in
Šid Šid ( sr-cyr, Шид, ) is a town and municipality located in the Srem District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It has a population of 14,893, while the municipality has 34,188 inhabitants. A border crossing between Serbia and ...
, 1910 (included a temple) File:Sinagoga_Bet_Israel.jpg, Bet Israel sephardi synagogue in the Tsar Uros Street, Belgrade, 1908. File:Former Šabac synagogue.jpg, Jewish synagogue in
Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...
, today acting as a museum of Jewish history in the area


Kingdom of Yugoslavia

In the aftermath of World War I,
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
,
Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...
,
Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary ...
,
Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...
, and Baranja joined Serbia through popular vote in those regions, and this
Greater Serbia The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia ( sr, Велика Србија, Velika Srbija) describes the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology of the creation of a Serb state which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to S ...
then united with
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...
(from which
Syrmia Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...
had seceded to join Serbia) to form the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
, which was soon renamed
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
. Serbia's relatively small Jewish community of 13,000 (including 500 in
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
), combined with the large Jewish communities of the other Yugoslav territories, numbering some 51,700. In the inter-war years (1919–1939), the Jewish communities of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia flourished. Prior to World War II, some 31,000 Jews lived in Vojvodina. In Belgrade, Jewish community was 10,000-strong, 80% being
Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...
-speaking
Sephardi Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
, and 20% being
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
-speaking
Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
. The
Vidovdan Constitution The Vidovdan Constitution was the first constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was approved by the Constitutional Assembly on 28 June 1921 despite the opposition boycotting the vote. The Constitution is named after the feast ...
guaranteed equality to Jews, and the law regulated their status as a religious community.


World War II

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia attempted to maintain neutrality during the period preceding World War II.
Milan Stojadinović Milan Stojadinović ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Стојадиновић; 4 August 1888 – 26 October 1961) was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and economist who served as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia from 1935 to 1939. He also served as Forei ...
, the prime minister, tried to actively woo
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
while maintaining the alliance with former Entente Powers, UK and France. Nonwithstanding overtures to Germany, Yugoslav policy was not anti-Semitic: for instance, Yugoslavia opened its borders to Austrian Jews following the
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
. Under increasing pressure to yield to German demands for safe passage of its troops to Greece, Yugoslavia signed the
Tripartite Pact The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive milit ...
with Germany and Italy, like Bulgaria and Hungary. Unlike the other two, however, the signatory government of Maček and Cvetković was overthrown three days later in a British-supported coup of patriotic, anti-German generals. The new government immediately rescinded the Yugoslav signature on the Pact and called for strict neutrality. German response was swift and brutal: Belgrade was bombed without the declaration of war on 6 April 1941 and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
, Hungarian and
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
troops invaded Yugoslavia.


The Holocaust

In
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
, German occupiers established concentration camps and extermination policies with the assistance of the puppet government of Milan Nedić. The Nazi genocide against Yugoslav Jews began in April 1941. The state of Serbia was completely occupied by the Nazis. The main race laws in the State of Serbia were adopted on 30 April 1941: the ''Legal Decree on Racial Origins'' (Zakonska odredba o rasnoj pripadnosti). Jews from
Srem Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the ex ...
were sent to Croatian camps, as were many Jews from other parts of Serbia. In rump Serbia, Germans proceeded to round up Jews of Banat and Belgrade, setting up a concentration camp across the river Sava, in the Syrmian part of Belgrade, then given to
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
. The
Sajmište concentration camp The Sajmište concentration camp () was a Nazi German concentration and extermination camp during World War II. It was located at the former Belgrade fairground site near the town of Zemun, in the Independent State of Croatia (NDH). The camp was ...
was established to process and eliminate the captured Jews and Serbs. As a result, Emanuel Schäfer, commander of the Security Police and Gestapo in Serbia, famously cabled Berlin after last Jews were killed in May 1942: :"Serbien ist ''
judenfrei ''Judenfrei'' (, "free of Jews") and ''judenrein'' (, "clean of Jews") are terms of Nazi origin to designate an area that has been "cleansed" of Jews during The Holocaust. While ''judenfrei'' refers merely to "freeing" an area of all of its ...
''." Similarly.
Harald Turner Harald Turner (8 October 1891 – 9 March 1947) was an SS commander and ''Staatsrat'' (privy councillor) in the German military administration of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia in the partitioned Kingdom of Yugoslavia durin ...
of the SS stated in 1942 that: :"Serbia is the only country in which the Jewish question and the Gypsy question has been solved." By the time Serbia and
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
were liberated in 1944, most of the Serbian Jewry had been murdered. Of the 82,500 Jews of Yugoslavia alive in 1941, only 14,000 (17%) survived the Holocaust. Of the Jewish population of 16,000 in the territory controlled by Nazi puppet government of
Milan Nedić Milan Nedić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Недић; 2 September 1878 – 4 February 1946) was a Yugoslav and Serbian army general and politician who served as the chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and minister of war in the R ...
, police and secret services murdered approximately 14,500. There was a similar persecution of Jews in the territory of present-day Vojvodina, which was annexed by Hungary. In the
1942 raid in Novi Sad The Novi Sad raid, also known as the Raid in southern Bačka, the Novi Sad massacre, the Újvidék massacre, or simply The Raid ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Рација, Racija), was a military operation carried out by the Királyi Honvédség, the armed for ...
, the Hungarian troops killed many Jewish and non-Jewish Serb civilians in Bačka. Historian Christopher Browning who attended the conference on the subject of Holocaust and Serbian involvement stated: Serbian civilians were involved in saving thousands of Yugoslavian Jews during this period. Miriam Steiner-Aviezer, a researcher into Yugoslavian Jewry and a member of Yad Vashem's Righteous Gentiles committee states: "The Serbs saved many Jews." Currently, Yad Vashem recognizes 131 Serbians as Righteous Among Nations, the highest number among Balkan countries.


Socialist Yugoslavia

The Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia was formed in the aftermath of World War II to coordinate the Jewish communities of post-war
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and to lobby for the right of Jews to immigrate to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. More than half of Yugoslav survivors chose to immigrate to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
after World War II. The Jewish community of Serbia, and indeed of all constituent republics in Yugoslavia, was maintained by the unifying power of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia. However, this power ended with the
breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in the 1990s.


Yugoslav wars

Prior to the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
in the 1990s, approximately 2,500 Jews lived in Serbia, mostly in Belgrade. The Jews of Serbia lived relatively peacefully in Yugoslavia between World War II and the 1990s. However, the end of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
saw the breakup of Yugoslavia, and the ensuing civil wars. During the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
, and international sanctions many Jews chose to immigrate to
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and the United States. During the NATO bombing in 1999, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Yugoslavia relocated many of Belgrade's Jewish elderly, women and children to
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, Hungary for their safety; many of them emigrated permanently.
David Bruce Macdonald David Bruce MacDonald is a professor in Political Science at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada and served as the Research Leadership Chair for the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (2017 to 2020). From 2002 to 2008, he worked ...
states that Serbian nationalists used Jewish imagery, such as the Legend of Masada, in order to justify claims of Kosovo by comparing anti-semitism and serbophobia. This theory is supported by Jovan Byford who writes that Serbian nationalists used the Jewish question for the martyrdom myth characteristic of Serbian nationalist discourse in the 1980s.


Contemporary Serbia

Manifestations of antisemitism in Serbia are relatively rare and isolated. According to the
US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
Report on Human Rights practices in Serbia for 2006: "Jewish leaders in Serbia reported rare incidents of anti-Semitism, including anti-Semitic graffiti, vandalism, small circulation anti-Semitic books, and Internet postings", incidents which must be viewed in the context of small but growing anti-Semitism in Serbia. In 2013, downtown Belgrade was covered by posters, reportedly distributed by the Serbian branch of
Blood & Honour Blood & Honour is a Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi music promotion network and right-wing extremist political group founded in the United Kingdom by Ian Stuart Donaldson and Nicky Crane in 1987. It is composed of White Nationalism, White Nationalists an ...
, accusing Jews of being responsible for the 1999 bombing of the former Yugoslavia. The Serbian government recognizes Judaism as one of the seven "traditional" religious communities of Serbia. The only remaining functioning
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s in Serbia is the
Belgrade Synagogue Sukkat Shalom Synagogue or Belgrade Synagogue (Serbian: Београдска синагога / Beogradska sinagoga) is currently the only fully active Jewish place of worship in Serbian capital Belgrade, as other synagogues citywide are not activ ...
and
Subotica Synagogue hu, Jakab és Komor téri zsinagóga, Szabadka , image = Synagogue in Subotica.jpg , alt = , caption = Subotica Synagogue in 2020, after renovation , map_type =Serbia , map_size ...
.


Demographics

Censuses: * 1953: 1,504 * 1961: 1,250 * 1971: 1,128 * 1981: 683 * 1991: 1,107 * 2002: 1,185 (excluding Kosovo) * 2011: 787 (excluding
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
) In the 2011 census 787 people declared themselves as Jewish, while 578 stated their religion as Judaism. About half of them live in Belgrade alone, while almost all the rest are found in Vojvodina (especially in its three largest cities: Novi Sad, Subotica and Pančevo). The results of the 2002 census based on ethnicity and 2011 census based on religion are displayed below:


Notable people

*
David Albahari David Albahari (, ; born 15 March 1948)Biography
at
, writer * David Albala, military officer, physician, diplomat, and Jewish community leader * Albert Bogen (Albert Bógathy; 1882–1961), Serbian-born Austrian Olympic silver medalist saber fencer *
Oskar Danon Oskar Danon (7 February 1913 – 18 December 2009)
''
, composer *
Oskar Davičo Oskar Davičo ( sr-cyr, Оскар Давичо; 18 January 1909 — 30 September 1989) was a Serbian and Yugoslavian novelist and poet. A leading literary figure of his generation, he was one of the most acclaimed Serbian surrealist writers, but ...
, poet * Filip David, playwright and columnist *
Jelena Đurović Jelena Đurovic (also transliterated as ''Djurović''; Serbian Cyrillic: ; born 13 July 1973) is a Montenegrin journalist, writer and political activist of a Jewish-Montenegrin origin based in Belgrade, Serbia. Jelena was a founder and Vice Pr ...
, writer, politician and journalist *
Predrag Ejdus Predrag Ejdus ( sr-cyr, Предраг Ејдус; 24 July 1947 – 28 September 2018) was a Serbian actor of theater, film and television. His extensive body of work includes over 200 theater productions, 50 films and 30 television series. Ejdu ...
, actor *
Vanja Ejdus Vanja Ejdus (Serbian Cyrillic: Вања Ејдус; born 1 November 1976)Slavko Trošelj"Не осећам припадност ни вери ни нацији" ''Политика'', 13 November 2010 . is a Serbian actress. Early life and educa ...
, actress * Rahela Ferari, actress * Henrich-Haim Fingerhut, first radio speaker of
Radio Belgrade Radio Belgrade ( sr, Радио Београд, ) is a state-owned and operated radio station in Belgrade, Serbia. It has four different programs (Radio Belgrade 1, Radio Belgrade 2, Radio Belgrade 3, and Radio Belgrade 202), a precious archive o ...
*
Ivan Ivanji Ivan Ivanji (; born 24 January 1929) is a Serbian author of many internationally renowned novels. He was held in Auschwitz concentration camp, Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camp, Buchenwald during 1944 and 1945. He was Secretary Genera ...
, writer * Enriko Josif, composer *
Danilo Kiš Danilo Kiš (; born Dániel Kiss; 22 February 1935 – 15 October 1989) was a Yugoslav novelist, short story writer, essayist and translator. His best known works include ''Hourglass'', ''A Tomb for Boris Davidovich'' and '' The Encyclopedia of ...
, writer *
Geca Kon Geca Kon also spelled Gaetz Kohn (; 2 August 1873 – 1941) was a Serbian publisher. Early life Kon was born in Csongrád. His father was a rich rabbi and was the director of an elementary school. Unable to complete school, Kon moved to Belgrad ...
, publisher *
Marko Kon Marko "Mare" Kon ( sr-cyr, Марко Кон; born 20 April 1972) is a Serbian recording artist. He was the Serbian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 alongside Milan Nikolić, where they did not manage to qualify for the finals. Early ...
, pop singer *
Gordana Kuić Gordana Kuić ( sr-cyr, Гордана Куић, ; 29 August 1942 – January 2023) was a Serbian novelist. Biography Kuić was born on 29 August 1942.''Style''Miris kiše na Balkanu (11 May 2009) She was the winner of numerous literature award ...
, novelist *
Shaul Ladany Shaul Paul Ladany ( he, שאול לדני; born April 2, 1936) is an Israeli Holocaust survivor, racewalker and two-time Olympian. He holds the world record in the 50-mile walk (7:23:50), and the Israeli national record in the 50-kilometer walk ...
, Israeli Olympian athlete *
Tommy Lapid Yosef "Tommy" Lapid ( he, יוסף "טומי" לפיד, born as Tomislav Lampel, sr-cyr, Томислав Лампел; 27 December 1931 – 1 June 2008) was a Yugoslav-born Israeli radio and television presenter, playwright, journalist, politi ...
, former
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i politician of Hungarian extraction, born in
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
* Paulina Lebl-Albala, writer, feminist * Sonja Licht, political activist *
Lior Narkis Lior Narkis ( he, ליאור נרקיס; born November 8, 1976 in Holon, Israel) is an Israeli singer. Biography Lior Narkis was born in Holon. His father, David Narkis, was of Iraqi-Jewish origin. His mother Hanna Narkis, was of Serbian-Jewis ...
, Israeli singer (mother born in Serbia) *
Izidor Papo Izidor Papo (31 December 1913 – 14 October 1996) was a surgeon, general, military medical chief and academician. Papo was a Sephardi Jew born in Ljubuški, Austria-Hungary (present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina). He finished high school in ...
, cardiac surgeon, general-colonel of the
Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska a ...
medical unit *
Moša Pijade Moša Pijade ( sr-Cyrl, Мoшa Пијаде; he, משה פיאדה; alternate English transliteration Moshe Piade; 4 January 1890 – 15 March 1957), nicknamed Čiča Janko (, lit. "Old Man Janko") was a Serbian and Yugoslav communist of J ...
, politician, painter, art critic and publicist *
Dan Reisinger Dan Reisinger ( he, דן ריזינגר; August 3, 1934 – November 26, 2019) was an Israeli graphic designer and artist. Biography Reisinger was born in Kanjiža, Serbia, into a family of painters and decorators active in Austria-Hungary and t ...
, Israeli graphic artist *
Seka Sablić Jelisaveta "Seka" Sablić ( sr-cyr, Јелисавета "Сека" Саблић; born 13 June 1942) is a Serbian actress. She had performed in theatre houses in Belgrade and on TV and film. She is the winner of major theatre awards in Serbia and ...
, actress * Erich Šlomović, art collector *
Aleksandar Tišma Aleksandar Tišma ( sr-cyr, Александар Тишма; 16 January 1924 – 15 February 2003) was a Serbian novelist. Biography Tišma was born in Horgoš, Kanjiža on the present-day border of Serbia and Hungary, to a Serbian father and a ...
, writer *
Stanislav Vinaver Stanislav Vinaver ( sr-Cyrl, Станислав Винавер; 1 March 1891 – 1 August 1955) was a Serbian writer, poet, translator and journalist. Vinaver was born to affluent Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish parents that had immigrated to Se ...
, writer, poet, translator and journalist * Mira Adanja Polak, journalist


See also

* Israel–Serbia relations *
The Holocaust in Serbia The Holocaust in German-occupied Serbia was part of the European-wide Holocaust, the Nazi genocide against Jews during World War II, which occurred in the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, the military administration of the Third ...
*
Jewish Historical Museum, Belgrade The Jewish Historical Museum ( sr, Јеврејски историјски музеј / Jevrejski istorijski muzej, he, המוזיאון להיסטוריה יהודית בבלגרד; abbr. JHM) is a museum located to the southeast of Kalemegdan, ...


References

* "''Jews of Yugoslavia 1941 – 1945 Victims of Genocide and Freedom Fighters''", by Jaša Romano, from the English summary in the book ''Jevreji Jugoslavije 1941–1945. Žrtve Genocida i učesnici Narodnooslobodilačkog Rata'', Belgrade: Federation of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia, 1980; pp. 573–590.


External links


Jewish Virtual Library, Serbia and Montenegro



Synagogues Without Jews – Serbia and Croatia


* ttp://www.jobeograd.org Jewish community of Belgrade*
Jewish community of Zemun
(''a district in Belgrade'') *
Jewish Historical Museum in Belgrade
*
www.semlin.info
Website about the Semlin/Sajmište concentration camp and the Holocaust in Serbia
''Voices on Antisemitism'' Interview with David Albahari
from the
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust his ...
{{History of the Jews in Europe Judaism in Serbia Middle Eastern diaspora in Serbia