Jewish Life in Croatia - World Jewish Congress

Jewish Life in Croatia

46th Session
Universal Periodic Review Croatia
Representative delivering the statement: Mr. Jasa Kraus ,
Croatia

Thank you, Madame President. 

My name is Jasa Kraus, and I am a representative of the Jewish Community of Croatia. I am honoured to make this statement on behalf of the World Jewish Congress. We would like to congratulate Croatia on the Third Cycle of its Universal Periodic review and wish it great success as it constantly strives to guarantee the full enjoyment of all human rights for its citizens. 

The presence and history of Jews in Croatia dates back many centuries. I would like to stress that the number of antisemitic incidents in Croatia remains at a very low level in comparison to other European countries. The Jews feel very safe in this country and face no restrictions in their ability to exercise their religion and traditions in the democratic system of Croatia, as stated in the report.  

The World Jewish Congress would also like to welcome the progress achieved by President Zoran Milanović regarding occurrences of historical revisionism and Holocaust denial. It is the obligation of the international community to counter all efforts to distort and deny the Holocaust, which erodes our understanding of history and nourishes conspiracy myths, dangerous forms of nationalism and antisemitism. 

In addition, we would also like to congratulate Croatia which will assume the presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2023. In this respect, we would like to welcome Croatia’s progress made towards adopting the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, including the efforts by the Ministry of Science and Education and the Education and Teacher Training Agency, and call upon the government to fully adopt and implement this definition. 

Last but not least, in order to turn a page from the past, we look forward to working closely with the government to progress efforts regarding the restitution of Jewish property seized during and after the Second World War. 

In conclusion, we would like to express our strong commitment to continue working with our government in our joint effort to fully eliminate racism and antisemitism from our country and counter all those who propagate messages of hatred and Holocaust denial. 

Thank you.