The cancellation of the European Rabbinical Conference has revealed that Sarajevo, in practice, functions as a center of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and that the safety of rabbis and all non-Muslims is at risk in this city, stated Dušan Pavlović, director of the Center for Socio-Political Research and graduate of the Yad Vashem International School for Holocaust Studies in Israel, in a statement to Srna.
“What happened yesterday—the atmosphere and the call by Muslim citizens of Sarajevo to expel the rabbis, including statements by a minister in the Federation government—is shocking and deeply troubling,” said Pavlović.
He argued that the atmosphere resembled a lynch mob and would have led to serious consequences had the rabbis actually arrived in Sarajevo. He expressed concern that someone extended an invitation for the European Rabbinical Conference to be held in a city where their security could not be guaranteed.
“It is widely known that the Muslim part of Sarajevo serves as the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in this part of Europe. We also know very well that today’s political elites in Sarajevo and the Federation are ideological followers of Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem,” Pavlović stated.
He reminded that Amin al-Husseini was a collaborator of Nazi Germany and had organized a division intended to be sent to Palestine to annihilate the remaining Jews.
“The SDA is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Bosnia and Herzegovina. First, Serbs disappeared from Sarajevo, then Croats, and now we’ve seen a situation where even Jews are no longer welcome,” said Pavlović.
“Schmidt bears responsibility – he invited them, knowing where the rabbis were going”
Pavlović also pointed to the responsibility of the person who invited the rabbis to Sarajevo, fully aware that the Muslim-majority part of the city is a hub for the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and that their safety would be in jeopardy.
“All available public and verified information indicates that they were invited by the German official Christian Schmidt. It is evident that he had plans to secure political—and likely financial—benefits. We know he is a follower and admirer of Nazi-era structures from World War II,” Pavlović claimed.
He asserted that Schmidt extended the invitation to the European rabbis even though he knew what would happen and that he could be directly endangering their lives.
“This raises the question of the role of the German administration, which officially supports Schmidt while being fully aware that he lacks the legitimacy and mandate of the UN Security Council. We are aware that he continually acts in ways that destabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina and provoke new conflicts. Yesterday, we came dangerously close to witnessing one. We are all shocked and asking whether it’s possible that the German official Christian Schmidt did this intentionally,” Pavlović stated.
He added that the ongoing radicalization in the Federation of BiH poses a serious threat to Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole, and the region. He reminded that around 200 camps and detention sites for Serbs were established in Sarajevo during the 1990s.
“These facts are based on the testimonies of victims who survived horrific torture. There is no willingness in the Muslim part of Sarajevo to confront this past; instead, it is denied. This normalization of hatred and evil is never good—not even for those who harbor such hatred,” Pavlović concluded.
Source: RTRS
