Jewish and Muslim dignitaries gathered in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica on Saturday, coinciding with International Holocaust Remembrance Day, amidst ongoing deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip.
The poignant event took place at the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial Centre, a site laden with symbolism, where approximately 8,000 Muslim men and teenagers fell victim to genocide in 1995 at the hands of Bosnian Serb forces, as recognized by international justice.
The President of the World Federation of Bergen-Belsen Associations and American lawyer, Menachem Rosensaft, and Bosnian Muslim religious leader Husein Kavazovic, jointly presented and signed the “Jewish-Muslim Initiative for Peace.”
Rosensaft, also the general counsel emeritus of the World Jewish Congress, expressed their collective grief, stating, “We join together in sorrow, and our tears become prayers – prayers of remembrance, but also prayers of hope.” He emphasized that this commemoration serves as a moment to “jointly commit” to preventing the recurrence of the remembered horrors.
The Bosnian Grand Mufti, addressing the assembly, reflected on the historical failures of humanity at Srebrenica, stating, “We remember six million innocent Jews killed and many millions of other victims of fascist and Nazi ideology.”
He lamented that this historic site witnessed another failure of responsibility half a century after the pledge of ‘Never Again.’
Referring to the deep-rooted ties between Muslims and Jews, Kavazovic asserted, “Muslims and Jews are one body. Our ties are strong, forged in times of hardship as well as in times of prosperity.” He highlighted the shared suffering and attempts to eradicate both Bosnian Jews and Muslims.
During the peace initiative signing, attended by figures such as Munira Subasic, the president of the association of mothers of Srebrenica, and Jakob Finci, president of the Jewish community of Bosnia, the call was made to “forge the path of reconciliation” and “actively build peace.”
The two leaders also took a moment to remember the victims on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
They commemorated the Israeli victims of the October 7th attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas and the Palestinian victims of the subsequent Israeli response in the Gaza Strip.
The top Bosnian Islamic cleric, while acknowledging the resistance to occupation, stressed that it cannot justify criminal acts, nor can the call to fight terrorism justify the murder of civilians and collective punishment.
