SKOPJE, Macedonia — By now, there is a familiar pattern of Jewish life in the Balkans:
A country implodes due to economic crisis or ethnic conflict. Many Jews leave. And the remaining community, still struggling to recover from the Holocaust and communism, suffers irreparable damage.
Macedonia’s Jews wonder if they will be the next ones to follow this scenario.
As NATO bombs punish Yugoslavia for abusing ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, the odds are growing that Macedonia will either be dragged into a wider Balkan war or erupt in a civil war of its own.
For now, the 190 or so Macedonian Jews say they are staying put.
“We have always shared the fate of the people of this country,” Viktor Mizrahi, president of the Jewish Community of Macedonia, said. “So we will continue to protect both the interests of the country and of the Jewish community. But we are also following the situation closely and are prepared to react as the political circumstances dictate.”
Macedonian Jews, like the Jews of Yugoslavia, must walk a diplomatic tightrope.
So despite traditionally warm relations with their fellow citizens, Macedonian Jews select their words carefully.
“I’d have to explain the Balkans to you,” said Zdravko Sami, former vice president of the Jewish community and now its “coordinator.” “Everything here is construed as a political act, gesture or statement.”
Mizrahi has joined Yugoslav Jewish leaders in denouncing the NATO air strikes.
Macedonian Jews, meanwhile, preach against intolerance. They speak from experience. During the Holocaust, the Jewish community was nearly obliterated. Roughly 7,300 died at the hands of Bulgarian fascists.
“Jews are not a part of this conflict, so we can stand aside as impartial observers,” Sami said. “With our historical example, we can explain the need for ethnic and religious tolerance. Because, basically, there is no reason or logic to these conflicts.”
Israel is also a moral voice during the crisis. The Israelis built the first field hospital for the Kosovo refugees, contributed $100,000 worth of medicine to the Macedonian relief effort and have taken in more than 100 refugees.
“The Jewish community enjoys high respect within Macedonian society,” said Mizrahi, a 50-year-old economist. “The humanitarian aid by Israel has been accepted with open arms and was one more confirmation of our reputation.”
But there is also concern here that the U.S.-led assault on Yugoslavia will trigger anti-Semitism.
“As war makes this country poorer, there will be a need to accuse somebody,” Sami said. “And when you look at the names propagated around the world as the ‘aggressors’ — Albright, Cohen, Holbrooke, Berger, Rubin — it’s inevitable that Jews will be used as a scapegoat.”
The Macedonian Jewish community traces its roots back more than 2,000 years. But as Sami said, after 98 percent of the Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, “it has taken 50 years for us to become something again.” The 190 members include 52 families, though Sami estimates some 200 to 300 unaffiliated Jews live elsewhere in Macedonia.
Those in the community continue to live their lives in normalcy. The rabbi from Belgrade, the Yugoslav capital, visits once a month. The Jewish center has been renovated, with plans to build a synagogue on the top floor.
But the potential emigration of many young Jews is threatening the Jewish revival. Seven teens, aged 16 to 18, will head to Israel this summer to learn Hebrew. They will likely stay on and continue their studies.
Meanwhile, the rest of the community watches and waits.
“Jews have lived through everything,” Mizrahi said. “If we didn’t have this spirit of survival, we wouldn’t have survived 2,000 years in the diaspora. So even if there are five people left, there will certainly be a Jewish community in Macedonia.”