President of the Assembly Andrija Mandic and his New Serbian Democracy (NSD) see cooperation with Israel as the fastest path to good relations with Washington.
This is what the interlocutors of "Vijesti" assessed, commenting on the recent signing by the head of the Montenegrin parliament of an initiative by his American and Israeli colleagues that the US president Donald tramp received the Nobel Peace Prize, but also many other examples of cooperation with official Israel and Jewish organizations.
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Mandić recently supported Trump's nomination, which was made in early December by the president of the US Congress. Mike Johnson and leader of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) Amir Ohana.
Mandić's cooperation with the Israelis dates back to 2016, when an Israeli-British marketing expert worked on the campaign for the then Democratic Front for the parliamentary elections. Aaron Shaviv, and according to some media reports, the current head of parliament hired him seven years later when he ran for president.
Foreign policy commentator Bosko Jaksic assesses that the connections acquired in 2016 were "undoubtedly maintained and encouraged from Belgrade."
He recalls that that year, Mandić and the leader of his coalition partner, the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knezevic accused of attempting a coup on election day, adding that "Shaviv's role remains unclear."
During the farewell visit of the previous Israeli Ambassador to Montenegro Jahela Vilana In July 2024, Mandić emphasized that the country would “always have a sincere friend and ally in Montenegro, and wished that Whelan would convey his warmest regards to the Speaker of the Knesset.”
Whelan pointed out that relations between Montenegro and Israel are much better than they were four years earlier (the period when the Democratic Party of Socialists was in power in Montenegro), adding that Montenegro and Serbia are today the safest tourist destinations for his people.
Mandić was the guest of honor at the Theodor Herzl Award ceremony, organized by the World Jewish Congress, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. On that occasion, he spoke with the president of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder, an American billionaire, businessman, former US ambassador, and philanthropist.
At the end of October 2024, Mandić opened the Eleventh "Mahar" Conference in Budva, which is a traditional gathering of Jews from the former Yugoslavia, Southeast and Central Europe.
Russia is mentioned less and less.
Teaching associate at the Faculty of Political Sciences and former advisor to the President of the Republic Mladen Grgić points out that the path to Washington via Israel does not require Mandić to change his political discourse.
"I believe that the strategists of his foreign policy agenda believe with reason that entering Washington may be the fastest, but also the most economical, through Israel, the biggest ally of the US, especially in the new administration. Other paths, e.g. lobbying in Washington, can be expensive and slow, but also without long-term effect. If the goal is Washington, I would say that this is a pragmatic strategy, and the mildest - it does not require any value deviations. On the contrary," he explains.
He adds that "Israel appears to be an important cog in his foreign policy agenda."
"Russia is mentioned less and less, and the USA and Israel are mentioned more and more, of course, when we talk about countries outside our region," Grgić points out.
Jakšić also reminds that the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić tried to get closer to the USA through Israel.
"Since he secured closeness to the Kremlin through Vučić, Mandić would also like to sit on several chairs, of which the one in the Oval Office of the White House is very important. He is trying to copy the President of Serbia, who, under the name of 'Partnership for the Future', is trying to promote strategic cooperation in the US-Israel-Serbia triangle. It was an attempt to get Vučić closer to the Donald Trump administration through Israel and the Jewish lobby, but in vain. Has Mandić learned his lesson? I doubt it."
The West is useful, Moscow is expensive
Answering the question of why Israel is so important, Grgić points out that Mandić also understands that the West is useful to him, and Russia is expensive.
"It seems that Mandić has understood that it is useful to have sponsors in the West, because the border in the east is closed and closeness to Russia is becoming more and more expensive. Israel is an important ally and the easiest to approach - no change in the value narrative is needed. Also, a large number of our politicians believe that the blessing from the USA plays a major role in the formation of the government and can be a counterpoint to possible 'pressure' from the EU. This is largely the result of perception, but it is sometimes more important for politics than reality."
Jakšić adds that "it is undoubtedly better to have Israel as an ally than an adversary, bearing in mind the disproportionately large influence that seven million Israeli Jews, and a few more in the diaspora, have on world events."
"At the same time, Israel is inextricably linked to the current American administration, so this is all the more reason to develop cooperation. Two decades after diplomatic relations were established, Jewish organizations in Israel and the United States often remind that the ties between the two peoples were established in Roman times, that many Jews in Montenegro survived the Holocaust, and that there is still a Jewish cemetery in Kotor today. It is also recalled that Montenegro officially recognized Judaism in 2012 and that the first synagogue was opened in Podgorica a year later."
He explains that this cooperation is mutually beneficial.
"Israel has a clearly defined interest - Montenegro is in NATO and is a leading candidate for EU membership, so it is a welcome ally in a region where the influence of Russia, Turkey and Iran is growing. The economic potential is also highlighted: Israeli expertise in agriculture, hydro technology, renewable energy. An important segment is military cooperation. In 2023, the two countries signed a 20 million euro contract on the export of the Israeli "Elbit" mortar ammunition system to Montenegro, the third since security-military cooperation was established in 2019," Jakšić notes.
He adds that the cooperation between the two countries is also reflected in tourism, recalling that last year, tourists from Israel were among the most numerous.
Right-wingers are Israel's traditional partners
Grgić explains that right-wing conservative political structures have traditionally had good relations with Israel:
"Former President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik has invested in this relationship for years, it is similar with the leaders of Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic... But, keep in mind that key EU countries have excellent relations with Israel. They may not have emphasized this during the war in Gaza, but that has not changed. Countries in the region, including Croatia and Serbia, also have good relations with Israel. Only Slovenia, of the countries in our wider region, has been vocal in its principled criticism of the crimes in Gaza.”
Jakšić assesses that the problem is "that the calculations of Mandić, Knežević, Vučić or Dodik are based less on achieving state interests, and more on the search for an ally who is not bothered by their autocratic ideas and nationalistic charges."
"President of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu is a natural choice, but they don't realize in the region that such an important partner will turn its back on them when it comes to the conclusion that it no longer needs them. Today, European Montenegro needs Israel more than Israel needs Montenegro, but try explaining that to these politicians who imagine themselves to be big players in the ongoing global gambit."
He explains that "Israel's decades-long Western European allies significantly cooled relations with the Netanyahu government during the Gaza war, which led to the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for the prime minister, and UN institutions considering whether to charge Israel with genocide."
Dodik missed, Vučić continued, Mandić follows
Jakšić recalls that "Dodik was the first to open the Israeli channel in the Western Balkans."
"The enemy of my enemy (Muslims) is my friend. Israeli advisors arrived in Banja Luka, followed by Israeli investors and sellers of weapons, military and police equipment. Dodik will visit Israel again at the end of this month, which will be his first trip since March 2025, when he was 'asked' to leave a conference on anti-Semitism in Jerusalem after the Court of BiH requested an international arrest warrant for him for undermining the constitutional order of BiH and disrespecting the decisions of the Office of the High Representative (OHR)."
Jakšić adds that Vučić has also had Israeli advisors for a long time (Šaviv, Srulik Einhorn, Asaf Eisen) and that "Mandić is just following the behavioral matrix that is being written in Belgrade."
"The Chetnik duke in the position of president of the Montenegrin parliament appointed the president of the Jewish Community of Montenegro as an advisor (In the Open Heart). Israel has become one of the largest investors in Serbia in recent years. In Trump's company, in 2020, Vučić signed an agreement for Serbia to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem - contrary to all UN decisions. Mandić repeated the mistake during his official visit to Israel last year. In an effort to ingratiate himself with his hosts, he also visited East Jerusalem, which Montenegro recognizes as the future capital of an independent Palestinian state.
Ofner Bokan is also the vice president of the World Jewish Congress.
Mandić paid an official visit to Israel in February last year and met with the country's president. Isaac Herzog, but and Knesset Speaker Ohan.
The head of the Montenegrin parliament also visited the Old City of Jerusalem, which is under Israeli control but considered by Palestine to be its territory and capital, which is the official position of the UN and Montenegro. The Palestinian embassy in Montenegro reacted to this.
On that occasion, Mandić also boasted that he had met with Ephraim Zhurof, the last Nazi hunter.
Cooperation during a crime - a message to your loved ones or a missed move?
Speaking about the message Mandić is sending by cooperating with Israel in the midst of the war crimes that the state is committing in Gaza, Grgić points out that the head of the Montenegrin parliament is addressing exclusively his voters and potential voters, without caring what others think.
"Also, we should separate foreign and domestic policy, and be careful with 'moralizing' because many of our sworn partners would fail the morality test."
Jakšić, on the other hand, assesses that "Mandić is sending the message that his political mentors in Belgrade expect from him."
"If Serbia risks being placed on an international pillar of shame, then Montenegro must also accept that risk. The fact that such a policy does not help accelerate European integration does not bother Vučić. On the contrary. Anyone on this path of hindering pro-European Montenegro is welcome. Vučić, Dodik, Mandić and Knežević are not only pro-Russian, but their closeness to Israel, beyond the boundaries of economic interests, is at this moment completely counterproductive, and the hopes that they will reach Trump through Netanyahu are completely illusory, just like Mandić's signing of the initiative for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize," he concludes, recalling that the US president "intervened militarily in Iran, Syria, Yemen and Nigeria last year, this year in Venezuela, and is also threatening Europe with weapons - by forcibly purchasing or occupying Greenland."
He describes these actions as "another failed choice by Mandić."
Party colleagues also look towards Jerusalem
Besides Mandić, other members of his party also stood out in their cooperation with the Israelis.
During Mandić's visit to Israel, he was accompanied in the delegation by the Minister of Urbanism, Spatial Planning and State Property. Slaven Radunović, Marko Kovacevic who was then both an envoy and the head of the friendship group, the Bishop of Pakrac and Slavonia Jovan, and members of Mandić's Cabinet. The daughter of the Speaker of the Parliament was also on that visit, but the cabinet announced that she covered the expenses herself. Radunović and Kovačević are members of Mandić's NSD.
During Marko Kovačević's first term A Velvet monument was erected at the head of Nikšić in that municipality. This monument was erected at the sports airport on Kapino Polje as a sign of gratitude from Israel to Montenegro and the former Yugoslavia for their assistance in the war against the Arab states in 1948. The monument was erected in honor of the Velvet military action from that year, when the former Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia helped the newly formed state of Israel. Czechoslovakia sold the Israelis a certain amount of infantry weapons and ammunition, and from May 1948 it began to secretly deliver its fighter aircraft to them, while stopovers and refueling were carried out at Kapino Polje.
While he was an MP, Kovačević was the head of the Montenegrin Parliament's friendship group with Israel. According to the parliament's website, four of the seven members of that body are from the NSD.
At the end of November last year, Kovačević hosted a reception for students from a college in Jerusalem, and shortly after, they were received by the Vice President for Education, Science and Relations with Religious Communities in the Government. Budimir Aleksic, also a member of the NSD.
The Resolution on Jasenovac also unites
At the proposal of Mandić's coalition "For the Future of Montenegro", at the end of June 2024, the Parliament adopted a Resolution on genocide in the Jasenovac, Dachau and Mauthausen concentration camp system, in response to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica.
Many critics of the government have assessed that the act is intended to damage good relations with neighboring Croatia and slow down European integration. However, it, as well as the joint suffering of Serbs and Jews in the camps of the Independent State of Croatia, were mentioned several times during the meeting between Mandić, Kovačević and Israeli politicians.
During his farewell visit, Whelan welcomed the adoption of the resolution, adding that his country did not vote for the UN Resolution on Srebrenica.
The statement regarding Mandić's meeting with the current Israeli ambassador, Avivit Bar-Ilan, in May last year stated that "the importance of cultivating a culture of remembrance was also discussed."
"In this context, they recalled that this year, the Parliament marked April 22nd for the first time - the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide in the Jasenovac, Mauthausen and Dachau camps," the parliament said.
During the meeting with Zuroff, Mandić announced that "his support for the adopted Resolution on Genocide in the Jasenovac, Dachau and Mauthausen concentration camp system is of immeasurable importance for the preservation of historical truth and the culture of remembrance."
Kovačević, together with Vilan and the director of the NGO Center for the Affirmation of the RE Population Nardi Ahmetović visited the reconstructed street in the Nikšić neighborhood of Rudo Polje and on that occasion they unveiled a sign with its new name - Street of Jasenovac Victims.
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