Painful memories from the 1940s reveal how trauma can damage the fortunes of future generations:
‘Israel of the Balkans’: Srpska fights like Israel for survival, Milorad Dodik tells ‘Post’
The invocation of ‘shared historical trauma’ echoed through Dodik’s remarks; trauma rooted in the genocidal horrors of the ’40s , when Jews and Serbs were murdered together in places like Jasenovac.
On July 11, 1995, Serb fighters rounded up and killed more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in a United Nations-declared “safe zone” in the town of Srebrenica.
That was the only legally recognised genocide of the Bosnian War.
The Srebrenica Massacre began on July 11, 1995, and concluded on July 22, 1995. Over 8,000 Bosniak Muslim males between the ages of 12 and 77 were captured and brutally executed. It was considered the bloodiest massacre and crime against humanity Europe had seen since the end of WW2.
The reason:
…… leaders, backed by Serbian president Slobodan Milošević and the Yugoslav People’s Army, launched an armed revolt against the new state . Their aim was to carve out an ethnically homogenous Serb territory, Republika Srpska, by forcibly removing or killing non-Serb populations – a strategy that came to be known as ethnic cleansing . Eastern Bosnia, where Srebrenica is located, saw particularly brutal campaigns: in just the first months of the war, Serb forces destroyed villages and massacred thousands of Bosniak civilians in the region . Bosniak survivors from surrounding towns fled to the predominantly Muslim town of Srebrenica, which by mid-1992 became a besieged enclave crowded with refugees and defended by a small local force.
The resolution (document A/78/L.67/Rev.1), adopted by a recorded vote of 84 in favour to 19 against, with 68 abstentions, condemned any denial of the Srebrenica genocide as a historical event and actions that glorify those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by international courts. It also requested the Secretary-General to establish an outreach programme titled “The Srebrenica Genocide and the United Nations”, starting its activities with preparations for the thirtieth anniversary in 2025.
In explanation of vote ahead of the vote, Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, noted that before the session started, he had “already bowed my head and laid a flower” at a memorial for all Bosniaks killed. Calling on “everyone in this room to vote against this resolution” as it is “highly politicized”, he asked its main author, Germany, why it was proposed — as individual legal liability had already been delivered through indictments, verdicts and convictions. Citing the resolution on genocide passed in 2015, he stated that the current text would not bring reconciliation to Bosnia and Herzegovina or the region. Asking the representative of Germany “why they were hiding all the preparations for this resolution”, he called for recognition of the genocide against the Serbian people in the First World War, losing 28 per cent of its overall population ranking first ahead of France, and acknowledgement of the country’s rare anti-Nazi position in South-East Europe during the Second World War.
While the Israeli war on Gaza rages on, Serbia continues to defy the European stance—offering steady political and military backing to “Israel” since October 7, 2025.
Ignoring Europe’s growing condemnation of Tel Aviv’s war crimes in Gaza and the deliberate starvation of its people, Belgrade instead proudly showcases its close and long-standing alliance with the Israeli Occupation.
Netanyahu’s Nightmare Is Playing Out on the Streets of Belgrade. Can It Happen in Israel?
Serbia’s huge rallies against the government of right-wing populist Aleksandar Vučić greatly concern Israeli PM Netanyahu. His decision on Sunday to fire the head of the Shin Bet increases the possibility of a ‘Serbian Moment’ in Israel
Serbia is currently the only country in Europe that is trading ammunition with Israel, stated Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, adding that he is often criticized for this by his colleagues. Last year, military equipment worth €42.3 million was exported from Serbia to Israel, according to the newspaper.
PM Netanyahu expressed his gratitude to President Vučić for his unwavering support of Israel’s efforts to free all of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza,
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić in New York
During the meeting, the Prime Minister discussed with President Vučić the ways to extend the cooperation between Israel and Serbia, particularly in the fields of security and trade.
Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his gratitude to President Vučić for his unwavering support of Israel’s efforts to free all of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including Alon Ohel, who holds Serbian citizenship.
The Prime Minister shared with the President of Serbia the details of his conversation with Alon’s parents, following the dissemination by Hamas of a video that shows their son in the terror organization’s brutal captivity.
The election of Siniša Karan as the new President of the Republic of Srpska (Serb Republic) will deepen ties between the two countries. Prime Minister Netanyahu sent a message of congratulations. In January, the PM hosted two Bosnian Serb leaders in Jerusalem.
A Trio of Genocidal States: The Hidden Motives Behind Serbian and Indian Military Support for ‘Israel’
The military equipment from Orthodox Serbia and Hindu India has played a critical role in the killing and destruction in Gaza.
Despite international condemnations, Western countries, led by the U.S. and Germany, continue to provide extensive military support to “Israel” for its ongoing assault on Gaza. This support has enabled the Israelis to drop munitions equivalent to the power of three Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs on the besieged Palestinian territory.
However, military equipment from Orthodox Serbia and Hindu India has also played a crucial role in the killing and destruction in Gaza, as revealed by investigative reports from Balkan and Israeli sites.
The political-religious ideology of Zionists, Hindus, and Serbs shares a deep-seated hostility toward Muslims and employs similar genocidal tactics, with the goal of killing and displacing Muslims in Palestine, India, and the Balkans.
Serbian Complicity
It is not surprising that Serbia has been found exporting munitions and weapons to “Israel” for the destruction of Gaza, given the longstanding relationship between the two nations. Serbia has even agreed to open an embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of the future Palestinian State.
In October 2023, Serbia exported weapons worth 540.120 million euros to “Israel,” according to the Balkan Insight on April 13, 2024.
The site reported that Serbia has sent large quantities of weapons to “Israel” since the beginning of the assault on Gaza in October 2023.
A joint investigation by Haaretz and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) on June 10, 2024, revealed a massive increase in the volume of Serbian weapons sold to “Israel” since Operation al-Aqsa Flood.
The investigation tracked nearly eight Israeli military flights from Serbia transporting Serbian weapons to Tel Aviv, estimating Serbian arms exports to “Israel” at 15.7 million euros since the assault on Gaza.
Serbia defied the UN experts’ recommendation on February 23, 2024, to halt the export of tanks, artillery, infantry weapons, and mortar shells to “Israel.” These munitions and weapons are available in Serbia, and produced by the state-owned company Krusik.
The UN Human Rights Council also called on April 5, 2024, to stop selling, transferring, and shipping arms, munitions, and other military equipment to “Israel” to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses.
“Israel” already receives a significant number of weapons from the United States, which has conducted an unprecedented airlift of arms to Tel Aviv, involving hundreds of military cargo planes and ships.
This is in addition to Boeing 747 planes that primarily landed at Nevatim Airbase near Be’er Sheva, and other weapons arrived by ship.
However, as stockpiles dwindled, the Israeli military began using artillery shells marked for training only and munitions produced in 1953, despite a maximum shelf life of 40 years, according to Haaretz, prompting increased imports.
“Israel” needed both guided and unguided munitions for aircraft, particularly bunker-buster bombs, air defense system missiles, medium-caliber ammunition, tank and artillery shells, infantry weapons, and mortar shells, according to Serbian military expert Vlada Radulovic in Haaretz.
On November 6, 2021, Belgrade opened a trade office in Jerusalem, strengthening ties after relations had soured following Israeli recognition of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia. Serbia subsequently withdrew its previous promise to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
A source close to the Serbian government told The Times of Israel on November 16, 2021, that the political disagreement over Kosovo’s recognition will not affect the deep relationship between Serbs and Jews.
Serbia was the first to ratify the Balfour Declaration and the first to refer to the Jewish state as “Israel,” with the ancestors of political Zionism’s founder Theodor Herzl buried in Serbia, he said.
Kosovo established diplomatic relations with “Israel” in early February 2021 and in March became the first European and majority-Muslim country to open an embassy in western Jerusalem.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, and 97 UN member states, including “Israel,” have recognized it as an independent state.
The trade between Serbia and “Israel” amounts to approximately 73 million euros annually.
Serbia has also assisted “Israel” in developing relations with the UAE, its closest Arab ally, and the only country with a strategic partnership agreement with Serbia, according to The Times of Israel.
Indian Complicity
Under the leadership of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has drawn closer to “Israel” than ever before.
Currently, New Delhi is the Israeli Occupation’s largest arms buyer, with annual purchases exceeding $1 billion, and India’s arms purchases from “Israel” increased by 175% between 2015 and 2019.
Since then, Indian and Israeli companies have begun producing weapons in factories in India, according to Middle East Eye on February 12, 2024.
India has imported $2.9 billion worth of military equipment from “Israel” over the past decade, including radars, surveillance aircraft, combat drones, and missiles, according to Reuters on February 23, 2024.
On May 11, 2024, the Hebrew website Caliber3 reported that India had intensified its arms shipments to “Israel” during the Gaza assault, part of a broad military manufacturing cooperation between the two countries since 2017.
It confirmed that a company affiliated with the Ministry of Defense of India, Munitions India, received approval to export its products to “Israel” in January 2024.
Another Indian company, Premier Explosives, was also granted permission to export explosives and related items to the Israeli military, along with equipment and technologies, since the onset of the conflict.
Further, Indian-made Hermes 900 drones, produced by the privately-owned Adani Group, were exported to “Israel” between 2019 and 2023.
The Adani-Elbit joint venture, combining India’s Adani and Israeli Occupation’s Elbit Systems, sold over 20 Hermes 900 drones to “Israel.”
Tablet magazine on May 7, 2024, stated that the joint Indian-Israeli arms companies complement U.S. munitions supplies and other larger defense equipment to “Israel.”
In the future, India could also replace U.S. supplies for a wide range of warfare systems in addition to regular munitions, the report noted.
American activist Jackson Hinkle highlighted on X the role of state-owned Indian arms factories in shipping weapons to “Israel” for participation in the genocide of Palestinians.
For an understanding of genocidal tendencies in India see:
Part 1 of this series will provide the historical context for genocidal violence against Muslims in India. It analyzes how the first stage of Genocide, Classification, is unfolding in India.
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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