BENTSUR VISITS JEWISH COMMUNITY IN ZAGREB

( Editorial: --> 7002 ) ZAGREB, April 15 (Hina) - President of the Jewish Community in Zagreb, Ognjen Kraus, on Wednesday held talks with the general director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Eytan Bentsur, about the status and life of the Jewish community in Croatia, and about relations between Croatia and Israel. I think we have set a basis for very good relations between Croatia and Israel, Bentsur said after the talks. He added that during talks he had held with Croatian senior officials, a plan for further cooperation between the two countries had been developed. We agreed that we can develop further cooperation in many areas, for example, in trade, economy and culture. We will do everything in our power to make relations between the two countries as good as possible, and I think this is also the stance of the Croatian government, Bentsur said. Expressing satisfaction with talks he had held during his stay in Zagreb, especially with President Franjo Tudjman, Bentsur said he believed the time had come for the past to be left behind and for us to turn to the future. memories can never be erased and cruelty and crimes should always be remembered, but we have to turn to the future and cooperate so we could strengthen relations between our two countries, which is our intention, Bentsur said. Kraus said Bentsur had informed representatives of the Jewish Community with the contents of his talks in Zagreb. He was interested in how the Jewish Community in Croatia is functioning, how many of us there are and what we are doing to cultivate our Jewish identity, Kraus said. (hina) lm mm 151834 MET apr 98