The European Jewish Congress took part in the 9th Mahar Conference organised by the Jewish community of Montenegro in Budva on 20-23 October.
Head of Projects and Diplomatic Affairs Maria Bagdasarova and SACC by EJC Head of Crisis Management Dany Choueka represented the EJC at the event gathering 450 Jewish participants from across southeast Europe.
Maria Bagdasarova delivered remarks during the opening ceremony alongside President of the Parliament of Montenegro Danijela Đurović, Ambassador of the State of Israel to Serbia and Montenegro H.E. Yahel Vilan, President of the Jewish community of Montenegro Nina Ofner Bokan, World Jewish Congress Director of Community Affairs Maya Samokovlija, and Chief Rabbi of Croatia and Montenegro Luciano Moše Prelević.
“The European Jewish Congress is proud to be a partner of this important conference. We are very pleased with the increasing success that the Mahar conference has each year and happy to see so many friends, community leaders and professionals from EJC affiliates in the region and beyond, taking part in this gathering,” Maria Bagdasarova noted.
“We are delighted to see a strong, confident and united community in Montenegro today. You do an inspiring and essential work to shape Jewish life in Montenegro in a constructive and positive way and your impact expands to the wider Balkan region,” she added praising the leadership of President Nina Ofner Bokan, Community Manager Ljiljana Vuković and Chief Rabbi Moše Prelević.
In addition, Maria Bagdasarova and Dany Choueka delivered a lecture with a title “European Jewish Congress and SACC by EJC: uniting and protecting Jewish communities across Europe” presenting the activities of the EJC and its Security and Crisis Centre. They detailed on recent achievements in the fight against antisemitism and fostering Jewish life at the European level, on humanitarian assistance provided to refugees from Ukraine, and on the cooperation with other faith organizations on protection of places of worship. Dany Choueka also briefed the participants on the basics of security and crisis management.
The conference also included sessions on Israeli air forces, the changing role of Jewish women, activities of the Jewish community of Zrenjanin as well as exhibitions on the history of synagogues in the town of Zemun and on the legacy of novelist Danilo Kiš.
