The anti-Semitic statement of the President of Croatia – and the reaction of Foreign Minister Saar

An unusual diplomatic confrontation has been recorded in recent days between Croatia and Israel, which escalated tonight (between Thursday and Friday) into an attack by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Croatian President Zoran Milanović. Milanovic said that Croatia does not want “pollution and germs” from Israel, which led Sa’ar to reply that the president had “betrayed” his commitment to Holocaust remembrance and the fight against anti-Semitism.

The uproar began after Israel’s ambassador to Croatia, Gerry Korn, said in an interview to the local media that it is possible that members of the Revolutionary Guards are stationed at the Iranian embassy in Zagreb and are involved in the operation of terrorism, and therefore the Iranian elements stationed there should be checked. He also echoed Foreign Minister Sa’ar’s call to sever relations with Iran. After the words, he was summoned to a clarification conversation by the Croatian government, and the president said that his statements were “unacceptable”.

But in the words he later gave to the media, President Milanovic added a statement with a clear anti-Semitic flavor: “We don’t want foreign infections and germs in Croatia – neither from Israel nor from Iran. This is Zagreb, not Tel Aviv.”

The Croatian president also provided an outrageous comparison between Israel and Iran, accusing the IDF of terrorism: “In the Middle East, Iran, just like Israel, is prone to certain terrorist methods. What is the killing in Gaza if not terrorism? However, Iran does not engage in terrorism in Europe.” According to some of the major media outlets in Croatia, he even added a particularly bizarre statement, according to which the activity of IDF soldiers who were “trained in contact combat” is terrorism.

Foreign Minister Sa’ar was not held accountable and reacted strongly tonight to Milanovich’s anti-Semitic statement. “The offensive rhetoric of the president of Croatia is unacceptable. His hateful language about Israel and Zionism reflects an anti-Semitic attitude. Croatia belongs to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and has pledged to fight anti-Semitism. The president has betrayed these commitments,” Sa’ar wrote on the X network.

The confrontation caused an uproar in Croatia and received extensive coverage from the country’s major media outlets. The president of Croatia has led a very critical line towards Israel in recent years, firmly condemning the war in Gaza. Croatia maintains relations with Tehran, and President Milanovic even condemned the attack by Israel and the United States in Iran, claiming that it was not done within the international mandate of the United Nations.