Relations between Croatia and Israel are very good because Zagreb has been taking care of "the historical chapter" much better than in the past, Israel's new ambassador to Croatia told Hina in an interview, adding that his main task is the future and development of relations on all fronts.

The relations are now very good, “we enjoy mature relations”, but there is always room for improvement. I think also the historical chapter is being taken care of much better than in the past, Ambassador Gary Koren said about the issue of historical revisionism in Croatia which poisoned relations with Israel at the beginning of Croatia’s independence.

Noting that he has already visited Jasenovac, the site of a World War II concentration camp, even though he has been in office only two weeks, the ambassador stressed that the issue of the Holocaust is not new either to him or to any other Israeli ambassador.

“In my past, I was dealing with Holocaust matters in other countries: Latvia, Lithuania, even the Czech Republic,” said Koren, a diplomat with a 36-year-long career. Croatia is the fourth country he is serving in.

As regards the salute “For the homeland ready”, which was used by Croatia’s WWII Nazi-allied Ustasha regime and which is not banned under the Penal Code even though the Croatian Jewish community has been calling for years for it to be outlawed, Koren said that he is confident the Croatian government “understands this issue perfectly well.”

If that is happening, it is sad, it does not help Croatia’s good image, he stressed.

Holocaust definition

Koren congratulated Croatia on its many achievements, from membership of the EU and NATO to entry to the euro and Schengen areas in 2023, as well as on the fact that in 2023 it will be chairing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

IHRA has 35 member countries and its main mission is Holocaust education, research and remembrance.

“It’s an honour to be a member of this club, but the moment you join this club you take upon yourself some obligations. You cannot just join IHRA because you want it. You have to show some record,” Koren said.

One of them is the adoption of IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism.

“Croatia is in the process and I hope that ahead of its presidency Croatia will adopt the definition,” the ambassador stressed.

A few years ago IHRA experts defined anti-Semitism so that it does not have to be determined over and over again what the term exactly means.

Most IHRA countries have adopted the definition, as have some non-members.

That definition is important for national authorities but also for football clubs, universities and local government, Koren said.

As for anti-Semitic incidents in Croatia and Europe, which he described as a disturbing phenomenon, Koren said that he is aware that such situations have happened here as well, maybe more in the past than now.

He is confident that some of those incidents are due to ignorance, prejudice and the folklore, but stresses that there is no room for that phenomenon in a modern European country.

Energy security crucial

Koren said that his main task is to strengthen bilateral relations and look more to the present and the future than to the past, which, he said, needs to be respected and should be taught and educated about.

Speaking of economic relations, he commended, from a political angle, Croatia’s decision of a few years ago to build a terminal for liquefied natural gas.

Energy security is becoming crucial for European countries as well as for Israel. Energy security is one of the areas, and Israel is becoming a country that produces natural gas and is planning to expand export possibilities to Europe, Koren said, adding that Israel already has agreements on energy cooperation with Egypt, Cyprus and Greece.

Israel is strong in the areas of innovation, high technology, IT, and cybernetics as well as in agriculture, medicine, water management and renewable energy.

We have a lot to offer in those areas, Koren said, adding jokingly that Israel envies Croatia for its tourism results.

In the first eight months of 2022, Croatia’s exports to Israel amounted to €68,869,000 while imports from Israel amounted to €29,713,000.

Along with economic relations, the ambassador also commended relations in the areas of culture and education and between the two countries’ academic communities.

By caring for Jews in BiH, Israel also ‘worked’ for Croats

Commenting on Israel’s having unexpectedly joined in a debate on the electoral reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina in August, Koren said that Noah Gal Gendler, the Israeli Ambassador to Albania, who also covers Bosnia and Herzegovina, had on his mind primarily the Jewish minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Our ambassador’s idea was to make sure the case of the Jewish minority is taken into account in any change of the election law, he said.

Incidentally, that was also good for the Croats in Bosnia, said Koren, who has additional knowledge of the region because from 2019 to 2022 he was the head of the Eurasia and Western Balkans Division at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Russia will not dodge sanctions via Israel

Koren was Israel’s ambassador to Russia from 2017 to 2019. He stresses that Israel is against Russia’s recent annexation of four Ukrainian regions and that Israel has been critical of Moscow over the war in Ukraine since the beginning.

Russia recently annexed the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia by the decision of President Vladimir Putin.

Israel respects the sanctions regime imposed on Russia.

Israel is not allowing a single euro or dollar under sanctions to pass its territory or financial system, Koren said, stressing that at the same time his country is trying to help Ukraine as much as possible and that it has also accepted a large number of people who have fled Russia and Ukraine.