Položaj jevrejske zajednice u Jugoslaviji

Abstract

Razrađujući projekat "Revitalizacija malih jevrejskih opština u Srbiji" urednici "Pinkasa" su članovima jevrejske zajednice, рrе svega u malim opštinama, ponudili kratke, interesantne tekstove sa jevrejskom tematikom, pogodne za čitanje, ali i za organizovanje razgovora u opštinama. Komisija za kulturu i obrazovanje Saveza i Odbor projekta odštampali su tekstove u sveskama (pinkasima) sa temama iz jevrejske istorije (opšte i jugoslovenske), iz umetnosti i nauke, o problemima Holokausta, antisemitizma, jevrejskog identiteta i sl. Jedan od tih tekstova je tekst Ace Singera "Položaj jevrejske zajednice u Jugoslaviji“ u kome se govori o malobrojnoj ali veoma zanimljivoj jevrejskoj dijspori u Jugoslaviji. Na osnovu pisanih dokumenata njeni koreni mogu se pratiti sve do srednjovekovne Srbije. U novijoj istoriji pravni legitimitet dobili su Jevreji iz Beograda 1866. godine. Njihovo uključivanje u sve oblasti društvenog i političkog života razvijalo se polako i dostiglo vrhunac tokom vladavine Petra I Karađorđevića kada su Jevreji aktivno učestvovali u svim oblastima trgovine i kulture. Odmah posle Prvog svetskog rata u Kraljevini Jugoslaviji osnovan je Savez jevrejskih verskih zajednica. Ova organizacija je iznela stav da je jevrejstvo verska i etnička celina. Pojava antisemitizma poklopila se sa rastom nacizma u Nemačkoj. Nosioci ove kampanje bili su nemački Kulturbund, Ljotićev „Zbor“, a kasnije tokom rata, marionetska vlada na čelu sa Milanom Nedićem. Reakcija na ovaj trend rezultirala je rastom jevrejske nacionalne svesti izražene u cionističkom pokretu. Drugi svetski rat (1941-1945) predstavljao je period strašne jevrejske patnje. U Kraljevini Jugoslaviji bilo je 82.242 Jevreja. 1941. ubijeno je 67.248, a preživjelo 14.994 njih. 81,76% od ukupnog broja jevrejskog stanovništva bilo je istrebljeno. Posle Drugog svetskog rata nastupila je obnova jevrejskih zajednica, ali zbog Holokausta nije bilo moguće oživeti 85 od 121 zajednice koliko je postojalo pre rata. Takođe, kao posledica strašnih iskustava, jevrejska zajednica se podelila: polovina preživelih emigrirala je u Izrael, a među ostalim neki nisu želeli da se izjašnjavaju kao Jevreji. U periodu posle rata, Jevrejske zajednice i Jevrejsko udruženje su slobodno nastupale u svim aktivnostima i imale su punu toleranciju vlade. Raspad SFR Jugoslavije teško je pogodio malu jevrejsku zajednicu zbog poteškoća u komunikaciji sa rođacima i zbog nemogućnosti da stupi u kontakt sa raznim institucijama Saveza jevrejskih zajednica koje su bile dostupne pre raspada. Savez jevrejskih zajednica nastavio je sa radom nakon raspada zemlje. Članstvo i kontinuitet Saveza u jevrejskim svetskim organizacijama ostali su neupitni. U uslovima višestranačkog sistema, Savez jevrejskih zajednica nastavio je da radi kao nepolitička organizacija i da održava dobre odnose sa svim vladinim institucijama, kao i sa ostalim verskim zajednicama, posebno sa visokim dostojanstvenicima Srpske pravoslavne crkve. Slobodna aktivnost i rad Jevrejske zajednice nikada nisu bili dovedeni u pitanje. Antisemitizam nikada nije pustio dublje korene u ovom društvu i vekovima su Jevreji imali prijateljske odnose sa nejevrejima, tj. Srbima. Međutim, bilo je retkih slučajeva koji danas dovode do antisemitizma, što, kako nas je naučilo iskustvo, ne treba zanemariti. Javnost treba bolje informisati o stavu jevrejskih organizacija, publikacijama i istaknutim ličnostima u svetu, posebno u vezi sa pitanjem bivše Jugoslavije što bi, pak, negiralo određene zlonamerne članke i izjave. Takođe, na dela antisemitizma treba brže reagovati. Ukratko, sadašnja situacija Jevreja u SR Jugoslaviji ogleda se u sledećem: 1) Otprilike 3.000 Jevreja su članovi 9 jevrejskih zajednica. Ovaj broj se smatra realnim, jer statistički podaci ne daju stvarnu sliku. 2) Ne postoji zakonska regulativa koja na bilo koji način diskriminiše Jevreje. 3) Verske aktivnosti se slobodno obavljaju. 4) Jevreji mogu slobodno razvijati sve one aktivnosti koje su usmerene na očuvanje njihovog identiteta. 5) U javnom životu (kulturnom, naučnom, političkom) oni mogu učestvovati kao i većinska populacija. 6) Potpuno su jednaki u pogledu prihoda. 7) Slobodno i bez ograničenja mogu održavati veze sa drugim jevrejskim organizacijama u svetu, posebno sa Udruženjem Jevreja poreklom iz Jugoslavije koji žive u Izraelu, gde se preselila većina Jevreja iz ovog dela sveta. 8) Jedina briga koju imaju Jevreji Jugoslavije su određene manifestacije antisemitizma primetne kroz štampu, neke naslove i izjave određenih pojedinaca. Nažalost, reakcije državnih organa, kao i određenih organizacija i srpskih intelektualnih krugova na takve postupke vrlo su retke. Opšti stav prema tim negativnim situacijama usmerenim na Jevreje mogao bi predstavljati neku vrstu testa za širu zajednicu i vladu prema nacionalnim manjinama i etničkim grupama. S druge strane, sve ono što je u ovom izveštaju predstavljeno kao pozitivno - posebno zabeleženo u tačkama od 1 do 7, može poslužiti kao pozitivno iskustvo prema manjinama i etničkim grupama, iako bi iskustva poput relativno male i specifične zajednice teško mogla biti biti model za istraživanje i rešavanje problema većih nacionalnih grupa.

Elaborating on the project "Revitalization of Small Jewish Communities in Serbia", the editors of "Pinkas" offered to members of the Jewish community, mostly in small communities, several short, interesting texts on Jewish topics, suitable for reading and organizing conversations in communities. The Commission for Culture and Education of the Federation and the Project Board printed texts in notebooks (pinks) on topics from Jewish history (general and Yugoslav), art and science, problems of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, Jewish identity, etc. One of these texts is "The position of the Jewish community in Yugoslavia“ by Aca Singer which is about the small but very interesting Jewish diaspora in Yugoslavia. Based on written documents its roots can be traced all the way to Medieval Serbia. In recent history, legal legitimacy was given to the Jews of Belgrade in 1866. Their inclusion in all areas of social and political life developed slowly and reached its peak during the reign of Petar I Karađorđević when Jews took an active part in all areas of commerce and culture. Immediately after World War I the Association of Jewish Religious Communities was founded in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This organization presented the attitude that Jewishness was a religious and an ethnic whole. The appearance of anti-semitism coincided with the growth of nazism in Germany. The bearers of this campaign were the German Kulturbund, the Ljotić’s "Zbor", and later during the War, the puppet government headed by Milan Nedić. The reaction to this trend resulted in the growth of the Jewish national consciousness expressed in the Zionist movement. World War II (1941-1945) represented the period of terrible Jewish suffering. In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, there were 82.242 Jews. In 1941. 67.248 were killed, and 14.994 survived. 81.76% out of the total of the Jewish population was exterminated, and 85.74% in Serbia per se. After World War II the renewal of Jewish communities came to effect, but due to the Holocaust, it was not possible to revive 85 out of 121 communities that existed before the War. Also, as a consequence of terrible experiences, the Jewish community divided: half of the survivors emigrated to Israel, and among the rest, some did not wish to declare themselves as Jews. In the period after the War, the Jewish Communities and the Jewish Association performed freely in all activities, and they had full tolerance of the government. The disintegration of SFR Yugoslavia hit hard the small Jewish community because of difficulties in communicating with relatives, and because of the impossibility to contact various institutions of the Association of Jewish Communities since they remained indifferent to newly created states, which were easily accessible before the disintegration. The Association of Jewish Communities continued with its work after the disintegration of the country. Its membership in the Jewish world organizations and its continuity stayed unquestionable. In the conditions of the multi-party system, the Association of the Jewish Communities continued to work as a non-political organization and to keep good relations with all institutions of the government as well as the other religious communities, especially with the high ranks of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Jewish Community's free activity and work have never been questioned. Anti-semitism has never taken deeper roots in this society and for centuries Jews have had friendly relations with non-Jews, i.e. Serbs. However, there have been some rare cases that lead to antisemitism today, which, as ехреrience has taught us, should not be neglected. The public should be informed better about the attitude of Jewish organizations, publications, and outstanding personalities in the world, especially regarding the question of former Yugoslavia which, in turn, would negate certain malicious articles and statements. Also, the acts of anti-Semitism should be reacted to more promptly. In short, the present situation of Jews in SR Yugoslavia is reflected in the following: 1) Approximately 3.000 Jews are members of 9 Jewish Communities. This number is considered realistic since the statistic data does not give the real picture. 2) No legal regulation that discriminates against Jews in an аny way is in existence. 3) Religious activities аrе freely performed. 4) Jews can develop freely all those activities that аrе aimed at the preservation of their identity. 5) In public life (cultural, scientific, political) they can participate just like the majority of people. 6) They are completely equal in terms of income. 7) Freely and with no restrictions they can maintain connections with other Jewish organizations in the world, especially with the Association of the Jews whose origins are from Yugoslavia but who live in Israel, where most of the Jews from this part of the world have moved. 8) The only worry that the Jews of Yugoslavia have are certain manifestations of antisemitism noticeable through the press, some titles, and statements of certain individuals. Unfortunately. reactions to such acts by the government institutions as well as by сеrtain organizations and Serbian intellectual circles are very infrequent. The general attitude towards these negative situations aimed at Jews might represent some kind of test for the larger community and the government towards national minorities and ethnic groups. On the other hand, all that is presented in this report as being positive, - especially noted in points 1 to 7, can serve as a positive experience towards minorities and ethnic groups, although experiences of such as relatively small and specific community might hardly be a model for research and problem solving of larger national groups.