Chief Rabbi of Montenegro Ari Edelkopf said that, at the moment when the whole world is sending a message that the Holocaust must not be repeated, the Jews are in danger again.
He called on the Government, as announced by the Religious Community of the Jews of Montenegro, to deal with hate speech directed against his people.
That religious community marked the International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Jewish Cultural Center in Budva, and Edelkopf reminded that the day is celebrated on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz camp.
"For Jews, Memorial Day is not just one day of the year. For us, every day of the year is a day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust. "There is not a single Jewish family that is not connected to the Holocaust because everyone has at least one ancestor who survived that terrible period," said Edelkopf.
According to him, "today, when the whole world is sending a message that the Holocaust must never happen again, the Jews are once again in a difficult situation".
"Recently we have seen a threat to the existence of the Jewish people. Just a few months ago, on October 7, terrorists came to brutally kill our people just because they are Jews. People in Israel live in danger every day, with rockets flying over their heads and fleeing to shelters for many years. They are in danger every day because there are people in the world who every day openly say that their goal is to destroy the Jewish people," Edelkopf said.
This, he added, "is not only said by terrorist groups, but also by numerous countries".
"We have to talk about it when the International Holocaust Remembrance Day is celebrated. When others come to kill us, the world around us is very quiet. Historically we know that the Jews always win in the end and those anti-Semites who want to destroy us simply do not know history. That's why when the whole world says on a date like this that it remembers the Holocaust and that it must never happen again, we say to them - prove it, because lately we have the feeling that you really don't mean it," said Edelkopf.
He thanked "God that part of the Jews also live in Montenegro", a country "that respects us and everyone can live freely in it".
"Security in Montenegro is excellent, but today I call on the Government to take measures against hate speech. The media is constantly speaking against Israel, and there is no mention of what our people experienced in the terrible massacre that happened recently. There is responsibility for this hate speech, so the authorities must make sure that all people are respected in this beautiful and friendly country," said Edelkopf.
At the event in the Jewish Cultural Center, as announced, the gathered paid tribute to the heroes who saved Jews from certain death during the Holocaust and the testimonies of members of Jewish families living in Montenegro whose ancestors survived the Holocaust were told.
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