Bosnia’s Jews Still Hoping for Return of Seized Property

Sarajevo's architecture and its charming historical buildings often impress visitors to the capital, but for those whose families once owned some of them - or at least, the land on which they are built - they are a painful reminder of what they believe Bosnia and Herzegovina owes them.

The unresolved question of property seized during World War II and by Yugoslavia's post-WWII communist government has long been a problem in the country, where some people and organisations - Jewish, Muslim and Orthodox Christian - have been waiting decades to get back what they insist is rightfully theirs.

The issue was highlighted again by a European Parliament resolution adopted on February 13, which called on the Sarajevo authorities to "ensure the right to property" and pointed out "the lack of a comprehensive legislative framework on handling restitution claims".

The World Jewish Restitution Organisation welcomed the European Parliament's pressure on Bosnia, which is seeking EU membership, to bring in a law to deal with restitution.

"We urge Bosnia and Herzegovina to pass legislation for the return of private and communal property," the WJRO's chair of operations, Gideon Taylor, said in a statement.

Jakob Finci, the president of the Jewish Community in Bosnia, noted however that there is no precise data on the total value of property that once belonged to the country's Jewish community, and pointed out that some of these properties are actually being used by Bosnian institutions.

"For example there is the building where the Cantonal Interior Ministry in Sarajevo is, which is the building of La Benevolencija, and yet it has still not returned," Finci told BIRN.

The building is located in a Sarajevo street that is named after La...