Borjana Krišto, chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia & Herzegovina, has apologised after a major gathering of top rabbis was turned away from the country following comments from one of her ministerial colleagues.
The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) was due to stage its annual conference at the Swisshotel in Sarajevo last week but saw it called off at the last moment.
The event would have seen more than 50 senior religious figures, including the chief rabbis of France, Germany and the UK, meet to discuss the status of the Jewish community in Europe and the application of halachic law in the modern day.
But just a week before the conference, Minister of Labour and Social Policy Adnan Delic publicly came out against it, saying the event would “legitimise” the “genocidal” state of Israel.
Posting a statement to his Facebook page, he said: “As a man living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as someone who believes in the values of truth, justice and dignity of every human being, I express my strongest protest against the announcement of holding the European Conference of Rabbis on June 16-18 in Sarajevo.
"It is illogical, deeply unacceptable, and even morally insulting, that in Sarajevo, a city that has survived the longest siege in modern European history, a city where children are killed, hospitals are bombarded and markets bombarded, is organising a gathering to send support to the occupier who, in front of the whole world, commits genocide against to the innocent civilian population of Gaza.
“This conference, announced as a "message of peace", is in essence an attempt to send a message of legitimisation of one genocidal creation and their shameful acts of crimes against humanity from Sarajevo. This is directly opposite to everything that Sarajevo is and what it has stood for throughout history.
"We must not allow Sarajevo to be a place that justifies genocide. Sarajevo has always been and always will be on the right side of history; on the side of justice and human dignity. Sarajevo is on the side of Gaza.”
The CER does not have any formal links with the state of Israel and the event was not set to discuss the Middle East or host any Israeli delegates.
Shortly after, the CER received an email from the Swisshotel, saying it would not be able to fulfill the booking “in light of the current circumstances and based on the information and instructions from the authorities”.
Now, though, Krišto has written to CER President Pinchas Goldschmidt apologising for the cancellation, saying that she was writing “in a personal capacity” to “express my sincere regret regarding the recent cancellation of events”.
She added: “I would like to underscore my deep belief that antisemitic rhetoric has no place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We remain steadfast in our commitment to act collectively to prevent such manifestations in our society.”
And she concluded by offer Rabbi Goldschmidt a “warm and respectful invitation” to visit the country in the future.
However, while he said the letter was welcome, Rabbi Goldschmidt responded: “Any meaningful apology must come from those responsible. Federal Minister Adnan Delic, who led the public barring of our rabbinic meeting from Bosnia and Herzegovina, should be the one expressing regret.
“If he refuses to apologise, we call on the Government to publicly dismiss him. Anything less shows tolerance for intolerance at the heart of the Government, despite letters they may send to us privately.”
