October 7 film on Hamas atrocities raises political tensions in Sarajevo

Sarajevo - Two days before the municipal elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), held on October 4, the Israeli embassy in this small muti-ethnically state sent out dozens of invitations for an event commemorating the victims and horrors of the terror attacks of October 7.

The event was supposed to occur at one of Sarajevo's most prominent hotels, Hotel Europe, in the old town of the Bosnian capital. The invitations announced that the film "Screams before Silence" by US businesswoman Sheril Sandberg, dedicated to the sexual violence committed during the October 7 attack, will be screened at the commemorative event. A photo exhibition of the internationally acclaimed photographer Ziv Koren, documenting Hamas's crimes, was planned to be shown at the event, scheduled for October 15.

Two hours after the invitations were sent to diplomatic missions, politicians, and media outlets, the Bosnian authorities informed the Israeli embassy that they could not secure the event.

Shortly afterward, Klix - one of BiH's most popular news sites, ran a story about the planned Israeli event, stressing that following the Hamas attack, Israel killed 40,000 civilians in Gaza, "out of which were 17,000 children," and therefore is being accused of committing genocide. Former anti-Israeli mayor of Sarajevo, Benjamina Karic, also used Kilx to oppose the Israeli event.

In a tweet on X, Karic, who was running in the elections as a candidate for the Social-Democratic Party, SDP in one of Sarajevo's suburbs, wrote, "I learned from the media that the Embassy of Israel in our Sarajevo intends to organize an exhibition and reception on the occasion of October 7 and the terrorist act of Hamas.

"I feel obliged to publicly condemn any act that unilaterally portrays the suffering of a people, while simultaneously ignoring the genocide in Gaza and the tragedy that the Palestinian people are going through. After the attack, Israel responded by killing over 41,000 people, including women, children, the elderly, and the infirm, while millions of people were displaced.

"The killing of innocent civilians, regardless of which side it came from, must be condemned, but organizing such events, while countless human tragedies are currently taking place in Gaza, represents a moral paradox and sends a message of indifference to innocent victims. At the very least, it is a provocation to a city that has survived the most terrible sufferings, such as our Sarajevo. Instead, it is much more necessary to call for an end to the violence, the provision of humanitarian aid, and the restoration of peace. I invite those who have decided to give space for this purpose to reconsider their decision!"

As a result, the management of Hotel Europe received anonymous bomb threats and decided not to host the event for security reasons. However, the Israeli side refused to give in to the threats. The director of the Israeli Chamber of Commerce in BiH, Amir Gross-Kabiri, addressed the Serbian authorities in the autonomous region of East Sarajevo. The President of Republika Srpska - the Serbian entity of BiH - Miorad Dodik, agreed to host the commemorative event at the National Theatre of East Sarajevo. 

Event takes place under heavy security 

The event took place on the planned date under heavy security assured by the Serbian police to avoid any disturbances of Muslim elements. No protest was registered around the venue of the event. Serbian and Croat politicians and leaders of the local Jewish community attended the event. No Muslim politician arrived.

The German, Austrian, Czech, Ukrainian, Serbian, Greek, and Croatian ambassadors to BiH arrived at the event, as well as representatives of the Vatican and Russia. The US embassy did not attend the event. Israel's non-resident Ambassador to BiH Galit Peleg denounced "irresponsible politicians that abused our tragedy and the memory of the victims of October 7 for their own political purposes instead of uniting around the message to humanity of 'never again' and calling for the immediate release of all the hostages."