Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt expressed shock and disappointment at the sudden cancellation of the conference. He pointed out that the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) at the Sarajevo Swissotel was supposed to bring together chief rabbis from across Europe (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain) to discuss key issues affecting Jewish life in Europe, as well as the topics of religious freedom and freedom of belief.
“Shockingly, the hotel suddenly cancelled,” said Goldschmidt, adding that CER events encourage dialogue, interfaith cooperation, and public engagement, and that the conference’s cancellation was “a loss for Sarajevo.” Goldschmidt went a step further, stating that “Bosnia and Herzegovina, after such a shameful persecution of a European religious community, should certainly be disqualified and excluded from the European Union accession process.”
Different reactions before and after cancellation
The Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Adnan Delić, said on social media that “Sarajevo must not be a stage for supporting genocide.” According to him, the conference, although announced as a “message of peace,” was “an attempt to send a message from Sarajevo, a symbol of resistance, survival, and human endurance, legitimizing a genocidal entity and its shameful acts of crimes against humanity.”
He emphasized that this is "directly contrary to everything that Sarajevo is", and that it is "an attempt to send a message through Sarajevo to legitimize the occupation and the systematic destruction of the Palestinian people".
Jakob Finci: "Sarajevo slapped itself in the face"
The president of the Jewish Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jakob Finci, was surprised by the decision to hold the conference in Sarajevo, although, as he recalled, large Islamic and Catholic religious gatherings have also been held there. He believed that Sarajevo, even after 450 years of Jewish presence, is an open city for all free-thinking people.
He is "unpleasantly surprised" by statements calling for a ban on the gathering due to Israeli actions in Gaza, without mentioning the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Finci emphasizes that in Sarajevo there are also different reactions from "those who think for themselves" and believe that if others can hold conferences in Sarajevo, why can't Jews, who are an indigenous people in BiH, do so too.
"Before every prayer, everything begins and ends with the word 'shalom', which means peace. This is a sad slap that Sarajevo has given itself," Finci concluded.
Adnan Huskić: "Wrong decision"
Professor of political science and international relations Adnan Huskić believes that the actions of certain intellectuals, as well as officials, have caused damage to Sarajevo as an open city.
"The decision of the Swissôtel management to cancel the hospitality of the European Conference of Rabbis is completely wrong. Personally, I believe that everyone has the right to organize a gathering and that the issue of freedom of speech, expression of opinion in BiH is guaranteed by the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. Either we will build a state in accordance with the European values that we stand for, or we will be a closed environment," Huskić tells DW.
Our interlocutor believes that the rally should have been allowed to take place, even with police protection, as well as potential protests if someone wanted to organize them due to disagreement with the rally's messages.
"And the way all of this was immediately interpreted in the letter from the European Conference of Rabbis, including the call to ban BiH from joining the EU, shows that this is a costly oversight," says Huskić.
Harsh criticism of Israel and controversy on social media
Academic Esad Duraković was one of the most vocal critics of the conference announcement. He assessed that the purpose of the conference was actually to support “the state that is committing genocide in Gaza” and added: “Israel has never acknowledged the genocide in Srebrenica! People here are completely unaware of how much unspeakable damage this is – symbolically and factually, morally and politically – for Bosniaks above all. Truly terrible! Is Sarajevo going to sink so low, to collapse so much?!”
Duraković also believes that Bosniaks "are not aware of the reality in which they live" and that they could be exposed to "devastating attacks of Islamophobia - to the point of extermination."
Dragan Mioković: "Sarajevo did not ban visits"
The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Mioković, did not oppose the conference, but he clearly stated his position on the events in the Middle East. He reiterated that "the Israeli regime, through the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces), is continuously and systematically, unacceptably long and brutally callous, committing genocide in Gaza."
However, Mioković reminds that BiH has diplomatic relations with Israel and that “much more radical advocates of Zionism than European rabbis” have come to BiH and Sarajevo to speak. He points out that BiH is a member of the European Conference of Rabbis and that there is long-standing cooperation.
His comparison is interesting: "Sarajevo has never banned religious dignitaries from visiting and meeting there, from those religious communities that are indigenous here, and who blessed war crimes and whose religious dignitaries not only never called things by their right names, but also relativized or completely denied the genocide in Srebrenica."
The cancellation of the European Conference of Rabbis in Sarajevo reveals deep divisions within Bosnian society, especially when issues of religion, politics, and memories of past conflicts come together. While some see a moral obligation to condemn Israeli operations in Gaza and protect the Palestinian people, others fear for Sarajevo's reputation as an open and multicultural city, and warn of potential consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to the European Union.
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