The President of the Conference of European Rabbis, Pinchas Goldschmidt, stated that while he appreciates the letter of apology from the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers, Borjana Krišto, regarding the cancellation of the rabbinical conference in Sarajevo, the apology should instead come from Adnan Delić, the Federal Minister of Labor and Social Policy, who led the public campaign against the gathering of rabbis in BiH.
“We appreciate the letter of apology from the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers, sent to me in both personal and official capacity, regarding the cancellation of our gathering of leading European rabbis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, any meaningful apology must come from those responsible. Minister Adnan Delić should express regret. If he refuses to apologize, we call on the government to publicly dismiss him,” Goldschmidt said in a statement.
Anything less than that, Goldschmidt noted, shows tolerance for intolerance, despite letters of apology.
“The Conference of European Rabbis remains committed to defending religious freedoms and ensuring that no European country is allowed to exclude Jews or any Jewish organization,” he emphasized.
The Conference of European Rabbis confirmed it had received a letter from Krišto expressing sincere regret over the recent cancellation of the conference and inviting Chief Rabbi Goldschmidt to visit.
The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Conference of European Rabbis, which brings together chief rabbis from across Europe, was scheduled to be held in Sarajevo from June 16 to 18. However, the management of the Swissotel, where the conference was to take place, informed the organizers that the event was being canceled due to “security concerns.”
This decision followed a campaign led by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of the Federation of BiH, Adnan Delić, who issued an open letter calling on citizens to oppose the event, and described Israel as a “genocidal entity” committing “shameful crimes against humanity.”
Following this, Goldschmidt declared that, after such a disgraceful attack on European religious groups, Bosnia and Herzegovina should be denied access to the EU.
The Conference of European Rabbis was founded in 1956, is headquartered in Munich, and currently brings together around one thousand rabbis operating from Dublin to Vladivostok.
Source: RTRS
