Montenegrin Schools May Mark Holocaust Day

Jewish community and government leaders on Wednesday discussed putting into action an agreement on relations between the community and the state of Montenegro signed in 2012.

The Vice-President of the Jewish community in Montenegro, Djordje Raicevici, praised the attitude of the government towards the community and announced some new joint activities related to Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is marked every January 27.

One proposal is for schools to start marking the day named after victims of the Nazi Holocaust and pay more attention to the topic in the educational curriculum.

Jews in Montenegro organized themselves as a citizens' association in 2011, and signed an agreement in January 2012 with the government, granting them official minority status.

According to the latest data, the Jewish community in Montenegro numbers only 110 people, but some in the community believe this may be an underestimate.

While Jews are few in number, they have lived in the small country for centuries. However, the first synagogue did not open in the capital Podgorica until November 2013.

It was then announced that a Sefer Torah, whose production takes almost a year and only takes place in Israel, would soon arrive.

Sefer Torah is a gift to the Montenegrin Jewish community from Hungary.