The Balkan country of Bosnia and Herzegovina will adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism.
The July 22 announcement was made on Twitter by Milorad Dodik, the Serb representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three-member presidency cabinet.
During a trip to Israel in June, he said “it is no secret that I feel a great appreciation for the State of Israel, and I simply love the Jewish people—mainly due to the sense of historical partnership that my people went through with the Jews during World War II.”
Tonka Krešić Gagro, head of cabinet of the chairman of the presidency, said she was pleased with the move, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“For me, as a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a Jewish legacy in my family, it is a step forward for our people,” she said. “It is a way to show deep respect for the millions who were murdered during the Holocaust and to those who survived, and to preserve their legacy and remember history.”
More than three-dozen countries have already adopted the definition since 2016, according to the Combat Antisemitism Movement and the Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University.
The World Jewish Congress praised the move by Bosnia and Herzegovina, tweeting: “Fighting hate requires drawing a firm line in the sand. Thank you to the presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina for ensuring the country joins the list of those that have adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.”
