Montenegro’s Jewish Community Stands Firm amid Rising Hostility Toward Israel

At the entrance to Nikšić, Montenegro’s second-largest city, a vintage fighter jet painted in the colors of the Israeli Air Force perches atop a giant concrete pedestal, as if about to take flight. The monument, unveiled in 2024, commemorates “Operation Velvetta” – a top-secret plan that ferried 17 Supermarine Spitfire aircraft from Czechoslovakia, via what was then Yugoslavia, to Israel in 1948, helping ensure the fledgling Jewish state’s military superiority during its War of Independence. At the monument’s base, a bronze plaque in Serbian, English, and Hebrew calls it “a permanent reminder to the unbreakable friendship of Montenegro and Israel.”

Lately, that friendship is being tested in ways not seen since Montenegro – the smallest of the six republics that once comprised Yugoslavia – declared its independence in 2006. “Yes, there’s antisemitism here. It’s much better than some other places, but the situation has changed,” said Rabbi Ari Edelkopf, who heads the Religious Jewish Community of Montenegro in Podgorica, the capital. Since October 7, 2023, Free Gaza marches have been held in all the major cities, and the rabbi’s office now monitors local news portals and retains a lawyer to track antisemitic content.

Several recent incidents involving Israeli visitors to the Connecticut-sized country of 625,000 have unnerved the local Jewish community, which numbers fewer than 1,000. Even so, the capital is on the verge of receiving a major new Jewish cultural center, set for completion in the fall of 2026, as the community continues to build openly and maintain its 24-hour security presence.

(TOI/VFI News)

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." – Deuteronomy 31:6