EXHIBITION "ZAGREB SYNAGOGUE - RELIQUIAE RELIQUIARUM" OPENS IN ZAG

ZAG $ REB ZAGREB, Dec 5 (Hina) - An exhibition presenting the history of the Zagreb synagogue was opened in Zagreb on Thursday as a central event of the celebrations marking the 190th anniversary of the Zagreb Jewish Community. The exhibition is entitled "Zagreb Synagogue - Reliquiae Reliquiarum" (Latin for "remaining fragments"). "For two thousand years, synagogues have been traditional centers where Jews communed with God, with other people and with their own souls. Wherever a Jewish community was established, it needed a synagogue, and societies willing to help Jews establish such centres prospered," said Rabbi Walter Rotschild in his opening speech. "This is the first presentation of the history of the Zagreb synagogue, which was consecrated in 1867 and destroyed in May 1942 during the NDH (Independent State of Croatia) regime," said Ognjen Kraus, president of the Zagreb Jewish Community and chairman of the Coordination of Jewish Communities in Croatia. The structure and interior design of the synagogue building were reconstructed by architects I. and T. Kusan using computer modelling. The authors of the exhibition are Snjeska Knezevic, Ph.D. and Aleksander Laslo, architect. President Tudjman's personal envoy Slobodan Lang greeted the participants on behalf of the President. "Both Jews and Croats shared centuries during which they were not only deprived of their own state but were also directly persecuted and thwarted in the pursuit of their own religion, culture and political freedom," Lang said. "Yet even during that time Jewish creativity and culture became part of the Croatian culture and heritage, and Dubrovnik, as the symbol of Croatian freedom, set an example almost throughout contemporary Europe in its tolerance toward the Jews," he said. Noting that "thousands of Jews died in Jasenovac and other concentration camps" during World War II, "leaving a painful wake and affecting the relations between Jews and Croats," Lang stressed that we should "speak out about our history, respecting the dead and uniting the living." Lang mentioned the contribution of the Jews to the antifascist struggle in Croatia, as well as the fact that several dozen Croats had been awarded the Medal and Certificate of Honour "Righteous among the Nations" for saving Jews while placing their own lives in jeopardy. "The Jews won their state - after two thousand years - fifty years ago, and the Croats - after a thousand years - six years ago. It is only today that they can realise their mutual relations as free peoples in conditions of complete national freedom and human dignity," Lang said. "Since the very first days of freedom the Croatian people has demonstrated that it has created a state which opposes all forms of anti-Semitism," he said. "In August 1991 explosive devices were planted in the building of the Jewish Community and the Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb in order to cause a rift between the Jews and the Croats, and accuse Croatia internationally. Instead of that, the very next day, in the hardest times in their history, the Croats held a mass rally against anti- Semitism in Zagreb's Jelacic Square. The event took place two years before similar rallies were held in major West European cities," Lang noted. "During the Homeland War Jews took part, in a variety of ways, in the creation of the Croatian Army and state, from fighting on the front to the propagation of truth and collecting aid. For its part Croatia has provided all possible forms of protection and assistance, particularly with regard to the Jews in Bosnia- Herzegovina," he said. Lang went on to emphasise the major contributions of Jews to Croatian science, culture, business and political life. "At the bilateral level, Israel and Croatia have mutually recognised each other, numerous relations have developed between the two states and full diplomatic relations will also be established soon," Lang announced. "Today many Jews hold prominent positions in all spheres of Croatian life: in the Government and governmental institutions, and in diplomacy, culture, science and business," Lang concluded. The exhibition was opened ahead of the forthcoming Hanukkah festival. (hina) as 051850 MET dec 96