On the outskirts of the capital Zagreb, in a magnificent palace to which the Jewish delegation was royally escorted, President Stefan Masitz met with Rabbi Avraham Yafe-Schlesinger, Head of Cemeteries Dept. of RCE, graced with the dignified appearance of a Rabbi, yet speaking fluent French directly into the ears of his host, without an interpreter. The President momentarily ignored the subject for which the meeting was arranged, and began to recall memories of his youth as a young partisan, who worked against the current in anti-semitic Croatia and joined forced with those fighting the Nazis. He described how he had assisted Jewish comrades who fought with him, while their families were being brought to the crematoriums. He was not satisfied until he had informed those present that his granddaughter attends a Jewish kindergarten. The Rabbis stared at each other in disbelief until the President let out his secret – My roots are Jewish, just like you. The members of the delegation, accustomed to meeting with leaders and high-ranking officials, had seen (almost) everything, but such an excitement they had not yet experienced.

At the close of the meeting, Rabbi A. Schlesinger presented the President with an engraving of Jerusalem, upon which the President declared – This is near to my heart. In an unusual gesture, Stefan Masitz escorted the delegation from his majestic room to the cars which were awaiting them outside the Presidential palace.

This special visit centered on Croatian Jewry was the initiative of RCE staff, headed by well-known Rabbinical activist, Rabbi Levi Matosof, its EU representative, who harnesses his many political contacts throughout the year for the sake of European Jews. It was only natural that the Croatians, who are presently negotiating with the European Union about their entry into the Union, would receive an EU representative with open arms.

Rabbi Yitzchok Shochet, Rabbi of Mill Hill, London, and Manager of Foreign Dept. at the RCE, Rabbi Josef Kornik, joined forces with him in planning and organizing the visit, leaving nothing to chance, and preparing everything beforehand down to the last minute detail.


On the other side of the fence, in the capital Zagreb, stood the local Rabbis, Rabbi Kotel Dadon, Chief Rabbi of Cong. Beis Yisroel in Croatia, and Rabbi Pinchas Zaklas, Shliach of Chabad Lubavitch who are assisted all year by the RCE staff and went out of their way to assist with the visit, both the planning and the hosting.


Awaken, Rise From the Dust


The Croatian Jewish community of glorious tradition, which was cruelly cut down by the Nazi beast, consists today of one thousand souls. For the local Jews, such a visit simply lifts their Jewish morale, tells Rabbi Kotel Dadon, It is not by chance that the new Shul was dedicated during the visit of the delegation to the town. For the community, this was an opportunity to demonstrate their Judaism with pride and glory. The Chief Rabbi described the feelings of the local Jews.


There has been a veritable revolution among Zagreb’s Jews in recent years. Many Jews who hardly knew they were Jewish are showing signs of life. They have accepted upon themselves the yoke of Torah and its commandments, they observe a Jewish way of life and most important, they send their children to Torah educational institutions, in order to continue the chain of tradition.


The one responsible for this Jewish revolution is the Chabad Shliach Rabbi Pinchas Zaklas who is not satisfied with providing a Jewish atmosphere for the adults of the community, but works tirelessly to instill Jewish values in the youth. Rabbi A. Schlesinger, who was a guest in Rabbi Zaklas house, and toured the educational institutions which he established, could not hide his amazement.

In a place where Judaism has been for years not to be seen and not to be found (like Chometz on Pesach) it is no small matter to see Jewish children reciting by heart Kadesh Urchatz, memorized for the upcoming festival of Pesach. Just like in the Hagadah, so today, after years of degradation of Judaism, the local congregation is going out from slavery to freedom.

In this special atmosphere created, it is not surprising that the local community received with great excitement the news of the visit of the delegation of Rabbis headed by Rabbi Avraham Yafe-Schlesinger, Rabbi of Machzikei Hadass in Geneva, leading member of European Rabbis Committee and Head of Cemeteries Dept. at the RCE. The visit of the Rabbis delegation became an extra incentive to continue their efforts, explains Rabbi Pinchas Zaklas.

Rabbi Zaklas and his devoted teachers spend the year instilling the learning and Torah values into the children and their families. Now the children had an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge to the visiting Rabbis. It is difficult to describe how much this visit has touched their hearts. The honor which the Rabbis have given the Jewish community by staying in their city has provided the families with incentive and encouragement to come nearer to Judaism and Jewish tradition.


Like Dust on the Earth


In contrast to the enormous impact of the visit on the Jewish morale of the local community, came the atmosphere of disgust and urgency at the terrible state of Jewish burials in Croatia in general, and in the Jewish cemetery of Zagreb in particular.


The situation revealed to the members of the delegation, for which reason they had been brought here by the local Jewish community, was indeed unbearable. In one cemetery, sometimes even in a common grave with one gravestone, there were gravesites engraved with a cross alongside a Jewish Star of David. Authentic Jewish names in Hebrew appeared next to names and descriptions of non-Jews, in their language.


And as if to add insult to injury, it appeared that the small Jewish portion was about to be destroyed, due to a local law which permits, in certain situations, the sale of a gravesite to the highest bidder, whereby the bones of the previous occupant are thrown into a communal grave, in the best case, or simply destroyed, in the worst case.


The staff of the Cemeteries Dept. is used to seeing difficult cases, as part of their task, but they were shocked by the terrible neglect, both physical and spiritual, reigning in the local cemetery. In this case, it is not the fault of the local community, because in contrast to most European cemeteries which are maintained by the local Jewish community, in Croatia by law, the cemetery is maintained by the government. Therefore in this unbearable situation, the community could do nothing but appeal urgently for help from the RCE Cemeteries Dept. which has proved its ability throughout the Diaspora.


Royal Welcome


Even those of the Jewish community who pinned their hopes on the activities of the delegation were surprised at the royal welcome which the Jewish Rabbis were afforded.


The Prime Minister welcomed the delegation accompanied by government ministers, and apart from promises concerning the preservation of Jewish cemeteries, he promised to change the law to enable the Jewish community to take possession of the cemeteries, on condition that a Jewish organization would take full responsibility. Rabbi Yitzchok Shochet replied that the RCE is prepared to take responsibility for this project. The Prime Minister expressed his full consent.


He then added a personal gift in the form of a decision to return the site of the old Shul to the Jewish community. The site is presently being used as a huge parking lot with great commercial value, but the Prime Minister promised that the site would be rebuilt exactly according to construction of the ancient Shul, the plans of which are stored in the archives of the municipality of Zagreb.


This is no mean achievement. The old Shul is of historic significance far beyond the borders of Croatia. The Rabbi of the congregation which occupied the Shul before the Nazi enemy destroyed it, was Rabbi Shmuel Chaim Sofer, uncle of the present Erlauer Rabbi, a descendant of the Ksav Sofer.


There is no lack of Jewish history, now there is somebody willing to return the crown to its former glory – none other that the non-Jewish Prime Minister. Rabbi A. Schlesinger expressed well the feelings of the participants by writing in the visitors’ book the following concise but expressive words – We feel at home.


Not only on a governmental level, but also on a local level, the delegation met with good will and a true desire to bring the matter to a successful solution. The Mayor of Zagreb received the Rabbis accompanied by the other municipality members and promised Rabbi A. Schlesinger that the cemetery would be transferred to the ownership of the Jewish community still before his return to Geneva. Wary of promises, Rabbi Schlesinger replied with a wry smile, that he did not intend to remain in the capital until the matter was concluded, and that he was doubtful if the government and municipality could join forces to solve this painful problem as soon as possible.


However, while the delegation was still there, activities were begun to transfer the cemetery to the possession of the community. The government is indeed fulfilling its promise to the Rabbis of the Centre and I very much hope that in a short time we will be able to give you good news, Rabbi Dadon, Chief Rabbi of Zagreb, tells us while sitting at a special meeting with community leaders. So, he explains, the Rabbis visit served a dual purpose, it raised the morale of the community, and influenced the government obligations.