Comments - Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by Balkanbaby

Salim

Salim — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

How is this a miracle? After the creation of Croatia as a separate country one could have expected a more religiously tolerant environment. Franjo Tudman came from the Yugoslav stock so his mentality was not much detached from the prevalent overall social mindset of the country and the government.

This will also serve the Croats well as a PR exercise. after all, it has many of its own sins to hide. The Croats were no innocent when it came to war crimes during the Balkan Wars.

Natalie

Natalie — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

I have a feeling that today’s Croatia has all the ingredients that makes a nation great. They are perhaps better ruled than the former Yugoslav states, they have a good sporting culture. The country itself is beautiful and I find today’s generation is more career oriented than the earlier ones. They have more to think of today than they had ten years back when it was struggling to stand up on its feet.

Dotan

Dotan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

this is so welcome. this is so good change to see. i will want visit there because i want to see a synagogue in place where jews were killed. they hated jews like nazis. i am very happy. thanks to god that people are get better minds. croatia will earning continue goodwill from world wide jews. thanks.

Orly

Orly — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Wonderful! There is another good news for the Croatian Jews. The latest news is that the Croatian government may change its laws to protect Jewish cemeteries. Actually, Croatian law allows buried people without heirs to be taken out and reburied after 30 years if the owners of the cemetery land want to sell it. With so many Jews killed and displaced, many of whom without any trace, it would be virtually impossible to find heirs in many, many cases.

Edward

Edward — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Salim, you need to understand the context of Croatian independence in 1992 and the religious symbolism that each side seized upon. The sign of a good Croat was that he was a good Catholic.

One step at a time. Tudman was not a very tollerant man, but he did not live through very tollerant times, and even if we can’t fully forgive him then we should at least try to understand why.

Of course it is partly a PR exercise, I doubt that Mesic, Bandic or Kosor have any huge interest in the city’s Jews but it does look good, and sometimes looking good is equal to acting good. A little good will can go a long way, even in the Balkans.

Edward

Edward — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Natalie, I think you are totally correct. 10 years ago they lagged behing the Slovenes who really motored ahead, and politically/financially they are still behind them. That said, the Croats are the proudest nation in the world and are blessed to live in a country that has, in my opinion and I admit to being very biased in their favour, the best quality of life.

Edward

Edward — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Dotan, It’s good to hear that you feel so positively. The opening of this synagogue is good news for everybody, it helps heal old wounds, helps the local Jewish community and helps the understanding of compassion towards all of the world’s ethnicities.

Edward

Edward — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Orly, a lot of families in Croatia suffer from this law, Jew and non-Jew alike. When I first heard about it I was totally shocked, but over the last couple of years I’ve come to understand it in perspective. Look at the problem in Britain: graveyards everywhere and an ever aging population. It’s not pretty, and respect must be taken for the remains of those burried, but if the practise is carried out in a respectful and dignified way then I can’t say it bothers me too much. I guess it’s good to have a bit of company when you’re dead maybe!