Abstract
This paper explores Jewish identity and community life in Croatia in the new millennium. Examining the interconnectedness of neoliberalism and the politics of rewriting and suppressing historical narratives, I consider Jewish identity negotiation and community participation in a post-socialist capitalist system. With Croatia’s unsettling history and changing political economy as the backdrop, I examine how the expansion of neoliberal cultural values has made room for multiple views of Croatian history: I argue that the sociocultural climate has produced an essentialized view of Jews and the Jewish community, whose survival is not aided by populist historical revisionism. In line with the changing political economy, Jewish community leadership has adopted a more restricted understanding of the survival of Jewish identity and community participation. I suggest that the perceived monocausal disappearance of the Croatian Jews and the one-size-fits-all solution is problematic given the particular sociocultural context of Croatian Jewry. I further suggest that the promotion of individualism over collectivism, popularized through the neoliberalization of Croatian society, has negatively affected the Jewish communities in Croatia.
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Notes
Studying Jewish identity and community life is not simply a matter of examining community membership numbers, as Jewishness is often expressed privately, not publicly, and Croatian Jews do not necessarily affiliate with an organized Jewish community, especially when they are intermarried or products of intermarriage.
While the Halakha refers to the body of Jewish laws that comprise the Talmud, a Halakhic Jew is someone who is considered Jewish by Jewish law, i.e., someone who at least has a Jewish mother. There is, of course, debate and interpretation of what constitutes a Halakhic Jew beyond matrilineality.
Neolog Judaism refers to a 19th century movement originating in Hungary. One of the main social features of Neolog practitioners was that they were largely assimilated, middle class and urban.
The “first” Yugoslavia was a kingdom established in 1918 after World War I. The “second” Yugoslavia was a socialist project that lasted from 1945–1991, when the country disintegrated during what in Croatia has been referred to as the “homeland war.”
The most recent example of this trend was uttered by US President Donald Trump in response to a white supremacist and counter-demonstrators’ rally in Charlottesville (August 2017). Equating the actions of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with counter-demonstrators, he stated: “We must condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”
As an important aside, the impetus for the majority of Croatians to secede from Yugoslavia was the belief that the free market and European integration would bring about greater freedoms, including the freedom to accumulate capital.
For a further discussion of the removal of Article 24, see Klajner (1997).
Dean Friedrich, secretary general of the Židovska Općina Zagreb, personal communication.
Aleksandar Srećković, president of Bet Israel, personal communication.
Dean Friedrich, secretary general of the Židovska Općina Zagreb, personal communication.
Aleksandar Srećković, president of Bet Israel, personal communication.
The idea of Jews living in Croatia “having potential” corresponds to Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s famous saying: “American youth is like unsown land waiting to be worked” (https://www.Chabad.org retrieved on August 28, 2017).
Mikvah (or Mikveh) is a bath (usually a small swimming pool) used in Judaism for the purpose of ritual immersion to achieve ritual purity. The mikvah is central to Orthodox life and is required before building a synagogue.
Aleksandar Srećković, president of Bet Israel, personal communication.
“Inspiration and Entertainment” is a search category on the Chabad.org website (https://www.Chabad.org retrieved on August 28, 2017).
Tefillin are a set of two small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls inscribed with verses from the Torah. Observant Jewish men wear tefillin on the head and bound with a leather strap on one arm during weekday morning prayers. The tefillin are a reminder, a provider of purpose, an amulet to signal one’s dedication to praying, and living, in an Orthodox fashion.
Dean Friedrich, secretary general of the Židovska Općina Zagreb, personal communication.
Rabbi Pini Zaklas, personal communication.
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Hofman, N.G. Jewish Identity and Community Participation in the Era of Croatian Neoliberalism. Cont Jewry 38, 387–404 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12397-018-9267-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12397-018-9267-4