Sa’ar meets Croatian FM in Berlin, backs OECD bid

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman in Berlin on Wednesday, where the two discussed bilateral and multilateral issues as well as their shared Judeo-Christian heritage.

In a post on X, Sa’ar said he reiterated Israel’s support for Croatia’s accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), of which Israel is the only Middle Eastern member, and invited Grlić Radman to visit Israel.

Croatia, a member of the European Union since 2013, is seeking to join the OECD as part of efforts to deepen economic reforms and further align with advanced economies. The country became an OECD accession candidate in 2022.

“There are 1,700 Jews in Croatia’s small but highly active Jewish community,” per the World Jewish Congress. “Fighting antisemitism and other harmful ideologies has proven difficult in the nation, especially in light of the historical revisionist efforts to absolve the fascist Ustaše Movement of its responsibility for the mass murder of Jews and Serbs during World War II.”

“Despite this, Croatian Jews are supported by the government and have full and equal rights,” per the WJC.