February 17, 2012 -- New York -- AJC welcomed the assertion of friendship toward Israel and remorse over the crimes of the Holocaust in a powerful address Croatian President Ivo Josipović delivered to Israel's parliament.

“President Josipović, whose country will enter the European Union next year, made clear in his Knesset address the depth of Croatian commitment to Israel’s security and to broad bilateral cooperation across a range of mutual interests,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

President Josipović expressed profound condolences on behalf of Croatia for his country’s role in the atrocities of the Holocaust.

“We should look into our heart, and reconcile ourselves with the darkest stain in our history and our political culture,” the president said. “We should always remember and we should live with the victims together, in the remembrance. This is our responsibility.”

“And here I am, standing before the Parliament of the Jewish State, and more important, before the children of Croatia, and with no ambiguity, I apologize, and I ask Holocaust survivors’, your and all victims’ forgiveness,” said Josipović.

Josipović called for national legislation to provide for restitution of Holocaust-era property in a manner similar to the “denationalization” process for property seized under Croatia’s communist rule, something that has long been resisted by successive governments in Zagreb. He also discussed prospects for strengthening economic ties between Israel and Croatia, and for advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace.

During his three days in Israel, the Croatian president met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres and other officials, laid a memorial wreath at Yad Vashem, and visited the Mount Herzl National Cemetery. He also met in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

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