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Cousin of Serbian ambassador to US held hostage in Gaza – interview
The Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7 and its massacre of over 1,400 sent shock waves across the globe. Among the 241 hostages taken by the terrorists to Gaza are citizens of more than 40 countries, including Serbia.
Thousands of kilometers away, the news hit Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric in a profoundly personal way. His cousin is among those who were kidnapped. As of this writing, his fate, as those of the others, remains unknown.
Djuric, who has represented Belgrade in Washington since January 2021, spent several of his formative years in Israel with his family, going to preschool and first grade in Kiryat Yam and Haifa (1990-1991); and living on Moshav Nahalal (1993-1995), where he was a third and fourth grader at the same elementary school that Moshe Dayan once attended.
In an exclusive interview with the Magazine, Djuric talks movingly about his kidnapped cousin, highlights the strong historical ties between Jews and Serbs, and expresses hope that bilateral relations between Israel and Serbia will grow stronger.Mr. Ambassador, I understand that you and your family were directly affected in a very personal way by the October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel. How so?
The horrific attack on Israel and the Jewish people that happened on Simchat Torah has global implications. Now, more than ever, the world should stand united in putting a stop to any form of violence, anywhere.
The attack on Israel is, at the same time, a very personal matter for my family. I have many relatives and dear friends in Israel. My cousin, Alon Ohel, a 23-year-old man, a dual Israeli/Serbian citizen with whom I share the same Jewish great-grandfather from Novi Sad, Serbia, on my mother’s side, was kidnapped by the terrorists on that day. Since then, together with the entire family and good people who are prepared to help, including from the Serbian and Israeli governments, we have been working 24/7 to try to get him back. Alon is a gifted young pianist with a great talent and pure soul, known widely for helping others. According to eyewitness accounts, he was trying to help his friends at the music festival, risking his life during the attack. He is also a brave man, and we believe he is doing the same – helping others – wherever he is. We miss him dearly and want him back right away.
The relations between Jews and Serbs stretch back for over 1,000 years and possibly even longer. Would you say that in some ways, your story and that of your Israeli cousin symbolize how Jewish-Serb relations are interconnected?
Alon’s great-grandfather Zeev Ashkenazi came from the city of Novi Sad. There, he was active as a member of the Hashomer Hatzair and other Jewish organizations. As a young man driven by Zionist ideals, he left Novi Sad for the Holy Land in March 1941. The rest of the family, including my grandmother Mira Schonbeger, stayed. This happened just a month before the Nazi German invasion of Yugoslavia.
Zeev came to the Holy Land and, among many thousands of people who came from Serbia, took part in the formation of the State of Israel. In addition, Serbia was a big center of the Zionist movement. The family of the father of Theodor Herzl comes from Zemun, Serbia. Zemun was also the hometown of Rabbi Judah Ben Shlomo Hai Alkalai, who is today acknowledged as a precursor of the modern Zionist movement. It is little known that the Kingdom of Serbia was the first country in the world to officially support and recognize the Balfour Declaration in 1917, thus supporting the idea of the formation of Israel more than 100 years ago.
Moreover, under the leadership of then-prime minister and our current President Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia was the first European country to pass a law aimed at returning unclaimed and heirless Jewish property taken during the Holocaust, known as the Holocaust Heirless Property Law.
It is also worth noting that Serbs have 139 bearers of the Righteous Among the Nations award, which makes them by far the most represented nation in a region in which Nazi Germans and the Croatian Ustashe occupation committed unbelievable atrocities.
Serbs and Jews were both treated as subhumans and exterminated together in the hundreds of thousands at infamous Nazi and Ustashe concentration camps like Jasenovac. They also fought side by side in multiple antifascist movements in our region. Throughout history, Jews and Serbs have been interconnected.
I also firmly believe we have many good things we can and must accomplish together in the future.
How does Serbia view the Hamas massacre and Israel’s plan to destroy the terrorist organization?
The highest Serbian officials have unequivocally condemned the terrorist attack by Hamas. It is a matter of principle for Serbia. But let us not forget that for the Serbs, the Jewish people also represent a friendly, even brotherly, nation. In addition, Hamas is known in Serbia for sending terrorist “volunteers” against the Serbs during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.
Since the Hamas attack, we have witnessed a surge in international support for Israel, but at the same time there has been a worrying rise in antisemitism across the globe. What do you think of this phenomenon, and to what extent is antisemitism an issue in Serbia?
We are watching with great concern the visible rise of various forms of historic revisionism and antisemitism alike. Serbia is different than many European nations in the sense that antisemitism is not only very rare but also appears exclusively as misbehavior of individuals. There is no underlying cultural bias against the Jews. On the contrary. If we can generalize, the Jews are looked upon with respect and are seen as brothers and sisters in suffering.
Serbia borders two Muslim-majority countries in the Balkans – Albania and Bosnia. Does Serbia face a threat from Islamic extremism and terrorism?
Serbia has already suffered greatly from various forms of extremism, including Islamic extremism. We are home to a small, but sprawling Muslim community, and they are well integrated into the society and treated equally.
There are regional powers and malignant actors who are constantly trying to stir Islamic fundamentalism. We are at a constant risk because their funds seem endless and their commitment lasting. Some of our neighbors, however, do not have the situation fully under control, and we are seeing a sliding into extremism in many communities. Some regional capitals are literally transformed beyond recognition, with tens of thousands of new inhabitants from the Middle East, many of whom are ideological/religious missionaries and extremists. The consequences of this will be felt in the coming decades.
Three years ago, under pressure from the United States, Israel recognized Kosovo, causing a strain in the bilateral relationship. How is the relationship between the two countries now?
Recognition of the so-called Kosovo by the government of Israel was, beyond any doubt, the most significant blow to the Serbian-Israeli relationship in 75 years. Kosovo is a sacrosanct land for the Serbs. It is not merely 13% of our sovereign territory, it is a cradle of Serbia’s statehood, spirituality, culture, and identity.
Kosovo (or Kosovo and Metohija as we call it) is recognized as a part of Serbia by the UN and 110 countries around the world, with a total population of 79.8% of humanity supporting Serbia’s position on the status of Kosovo.
In the past three years, 27 countries have revoked or frozen the recognition of Kosovo, to allow a solution through dialogue. Israel was the sole new recognizer. Bilateral relations did take a serious blow. But the relations between the Serbs and the Jews are so strong and well founded that I can proudly say that we are continuing to develop our relations in so many spheres again, and I am convinced we will continue to do so at an even greater pace. Serbia sees Israel as one of its close friends.
There is a large Jewish diaspora around the world, and Israel makes great efforts to foster strong ties with world Jewry. Do you think that Serbia, which also has a sizable diaspora of its own, can learn something from the Israeli model?
Serbs have a saying – ‘Only unity shall save the Serbs.’
However, we are one of the most diverse and heterogeneous nations on Earth. We have to quickly learn how to preserve our identity across time and space, and to master skills such as lobbying, mobilizing, and organizing our numerous communities across the globe. For example, there are 137 Serbian churches and more than a million Serbian/Americans in the US. If we are to survive and thrive, we have to learn from the best.
And the Jews are the best when it comes to facing many of these challenges. The Jewish state has also accomplished impressive results in this field, and we can definitely benefit a lot from the exchange.
In 2012, Serbia became a candidate for membership in the European Union. How are things progressing on this issue? Do you feel that the EU has been dragging its feet?
EU membership is Serbia’s strategic commitment, and we remain fully devoted to the process of European integration as we continue to implement the reform agenda in accordance with our European orientation and national interests.
Serbia has made significant progress on its reform path, particularly in the areas of economy and the rule of law, as noted in the annual reports of the European Commission.
Regrettably, I don’t think that any of the EU candidate countries are pleased with the current EU accession dynamics, especially given the fact that we have been witnessing the phenomenon of ‘enlargement fatigue’ over the last few years.
However, we remain hopeful that EU member countries will recognize Serbia’s efforts and results and that by the end of the year, we will be given the green light for the opening of Cluster 3, which our country is fully prepared for.
Iran is moving dangerously closer to obtaining nuclear weapons, even as its proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis destabilize the Middle East. What is your position regarding Tehran?
Serbia has often emphasized the importance of resolving the Iranian nuclear issue through peaceful dialogue and diplomacy, simultaneously sharing the international community’s concerns about nuclear proliferation. Being an EU aspirant, Serbia strives to align its foreign policy to the EU positions, specifically by condemning heinous activities by Hamas and designating Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.
Serbia and Iran have many differences in culture, religion, and historical experiences, but we do appreciate Tehran’s respect for Serbia’s territorial sovereignty and integrity, as well as its stance on Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence.
Serbia has seen its share of domestic turmoil over the past year, with large demonstrations against the government in Belgrade. How would you describe the current atmosphere in the country?
My country was struck by unprecedented tragedies in two consecutive days in May.
What started as protests against violence as democratic expressions of people’s grief and shock by mass murders, quickly turned into political games by certain opposition parties and their abuse of people’s emotions for political purposes. At the very first opposition’s formal request for elections, our government responded by acceding to demands for extraordinary elections, thus demonstrating its commitment to democratic principles and accountability to the people. I rest assured that the legitimacy of the current state leadership will be bolstered at the upcoming elections by a revived expression of the people’s will and trust in the policies established by our president and will be developed, followed, and executed by our government.
Israel’s embassy is in the Serbian capital of Belgrade, and not in Novi Sad, the second-largest city. But Serbia’s embassy in Israel is in Tel Aviv, even though Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. When will Serbia move its embassy to Jerusalem?
Our desire to move our embassy to Jerusalem was, unfortunately, suspended by Israel’s recognition of the so-called Kosovo in 2020. Nevertheless, we went ahead and opened a Trade Office in Jerusalem in 2021, hence reaffirming our commitment to building stronger economic and business ties with Israel.
Hamas claimed on Friday that it was ready to engage in negotiations that have dragged on for two weeks in Doha as a ceasefire holds in Gaza. Hamas is playing for time, and it is receiving a ceasefire for Ramadan.,
There is no urgency in Jerusalem to do a deal with Hamas. The US is focused on Ukraine at the moment and the chances of a ceasefire deal with Moscow. As such, Hamas sought to grab the spotlight on March 14 with a claim it was ready to release Edan Alexander, a hostage held in Gaza who holds US and Israeli citizenship.
Hamas said it had “received a proposal from mediators yesterday to resume negotiations, and responded responsibly and positively.” This apparently refers to various proposals floated since March 1. On March 1, the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage deal ended. Thirty-three hostages had been released in 42 days. Israel refused to move to phase two of the deal, which would have seen the rest of the hostages released and an end to the war and the IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor.
In general, Israel has been unable to get a deal with Hamas and has waited for the US to make the move. US President Donald Trump had been keen to see the hostages released, but he can’t wave a magic wand.Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, was able to get the mid-January ceasefire deal to materialize. Reports indicate that he has sought to bridge the gaps between Israel refusing to move to phase two and Hamas refusing to extend phase one. Reports say that the proposals in Doha relate to a deal to free several living hostages and some deceased hostages for up to 60 days or more of ceasefire. This would represent far fewer hostages than were released in previous deals.
Clearly, the Hamas goal is to get Israel to agree to less of its people being returned.
Hamas thinks that the US hostages held in Gaza are more important
Hamas thinks that the US hostages held in Gaza are more important because they can use a release of these hostages to potentially gain something. Hamas said on March 14 that it would release Edan Alexander, whom it called a “Zionist soldier,” and the remains of four other “dual citizenship” hostages. These are presumed to be deceased American hostages held in Gaza.
Reports have named them as Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Judith Weinstein, and her husband, Gadi Haggai. Neutra’s parents spoke at the Republican convention in 2024. He was later declared to have been killed on October 7. “We reaffirm our full readiness to engage in negotiations and reach a comprehensive agreement on the issues of the second phase, and call for obligating the occupation to fully implement its commitments,” Hamas said.
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office put out a statement on Friday in response to the apparent Hamas offer. “While Israel accepted the Witkoff framework, Hamas persists in its refusal and continues to wage psychological warfare against hostage families. The Prime Minister will convene the ministerial team tomorrow evening for a detailed briefing from the negotiating team, and to decide on steps to free the hostages and achieve all our war objectives.”
Meanwhile, other issues relating to the hostages appear to be in motion. Reports that Adam Boehler had withdrawn his nomination to be the US administration’s hostage envoy. However, it appears he will stay focused on US citizens detained or held abroad.
Boehler had been in the spotlight in early March when reports emerged that the US was having direct talks with Hamas. Israel’s government was put in a bind with this report. Jerusalem is afraid of angering Trump or even pushing back on Trump’s moves. As such, it was clear Israel’s government didn’t like the idea of an envoy talking directly to Hamas, but they figured they would let this go on and hope that Boehler would misstep.
That’s what happened when Boehler went on Israeli media for interviews. It didn’t go well, and he was reported to be sidelined. It wasn’t clear if this was because of Israeli pressure or perhaps because he was perceived to have horned in on Witkoff’s work or muddied the waters of the talks.
The question is whether Hamas said it would release Alexander and other Americans in order to try to keep the Boehler track of talks ongoing or if Hamas is trying to get a separate deal with the US. It appears Hamas was putting out claims that it was not communicating in public. This has left mediators nonplussed in the US and Israel. Witkoff characterized the Hamas demands as “unrealistic,” reports said.
So far, there is a lack of clarity on what Hamas is up to. What does seem clear is that Hamas has received a Ramadan ceasefire and not had to turn over any hostages for weeks. Hamas is recuperating and recovering and recruiting. In Israel, demonstrators who support the hostages and their families turned out on March 15 to demand that the hostages be returned.
Even as Hamas recruits, it continues to threaten Israel. The IDF said on March 15 that “two terrorists were identified operating a drone that posed a threat to IDF troops in the area of Beit Lahia. The IDF struck the terrorists.” Sources in Gaza claimed up to nine people were killed, which would make this the most deadly day of the ceasefire in weeks. Hamas believes it can keep the ceasefire and not have to turn over any hostages.
It is unclear if there is a quiet understanding behind the scenes on all sides that Ramadan will be quiet and Hamas will not have to do anything in return for receiving its free ceasefire. Last year, during Ramadan, there was also less intensity to the fighting in Gaza, but the IDF was still operating against Hamas. At the moment, Hamas controls most of Gaza and thinks it has won the war. It assumes Israel’s current leadership doesn’t want to remove Hamas and that Israel prefers to claim that it will defeat Hamas but not actually go back into Gaza.
Hamas also assumes it can hold onto the hostages for years into the future, releasing a few here and there to receive months of ceasefire each time and then dragging out negotiations between the ceasefires as it is doing now.
Hamas believes that inertia now favors Hamas. It likely assumes that only when elections happen in Israel or there is some incentive for Jerusalem to return to fighting, that there might be another war, and otherwise, Hamas can do as it wants. Hamas has already murdered more than 1,000 people, more Jews in one day than at any time since the Shoah, and it continues to run Gaza after 17 months. It thinks Israel is incapable of defeating it or that interests in Israel prefer to keep Hamas in power and not replace it. Hamas will have to wait and see if this is the case. Until then, it will continue to float various hostage release concepts, as it did throughout 2024, to try to create short news cycles and controversy that favor Hamas as it stalls the negotiations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to hold consultations on Saturday evening following the Israeli delegation’s return from Gaza hostage deal talks in the Qatari capital of Doha.
Israel accused Hamas of deviating from the American proposal for a ceasefire extension after the terror organization announced on Friday that it had agreed to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander from Gaza captivity.
Hamas also said it would return the remains of four deceased hostages with American citizenship: Omer Neutra, Itay Chen, Gadi Haggai, and Judy Weinstein Haggai. Israeli officials previously confirmed the deaths of all four hostages named by Hamas.
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff dismissed Hamas’s offer on Friday, warning the Palestinian terror organization that it could no longer play for time with a ceasefire and hostage deal.Gaza hostage deal talks have ‘failed,’ Hamas official tells BBC Arabic
Earlier on Saturday, Hamas officials told BBC Arabic that discussions on the continuation of a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal have failed.
Additionally, Dr. Tarek Fahmy, a professor of political science, told the BBC that despite a lack of movement in talks, he does not believe fighting will continue in the same capacity it did before the recent ceasefire.
Fahmy stressed he believed “there will be no resumption of the war, despite reports that Israel is preparing to launch qualitative strikes” after the ceasefire expires.
Talks continued throughout the weekend as a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Khayya visited Cairo for updates on the negotiations in Qatar.
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
Despite the growing criticism, Israel is standing firm in its attempt to banish the United Nations Relief and Works Agency from operating in its territory.
Since its ban came into effect on January 30, Israeli authorities have severed coordination ties with the agency, shut down schools in east Jerusalem, and effectively forced international staff to leave.
The government’s decision was largely driven by its expanding allegations that UNRWA employees hold links to terrorist organizations.
The fallout has been swift. Countries such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the European Union have suspended or withdrawn funding, citing concerns over neutrality.Beyond the political maneuvering and aid cuts, the issue has added fresh scrutiny to a decades-old debate that remains unresolved: Who qualifies as a Palestinian refugee? And should this status be inherited indefinitely – even by millionaires?
A refugee definition unlike any other
UNRWA was created shortly after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war to assist 750,000 Palestinians displaced by the conflict. Today, its registry lists over six million refugees.
Critics argue that no other refugee group in the world operates with this mandate.
“Unlike every other refugee crisis in history, Palestinian refugees don’t decrease in number – they increase. UNRWA doesn’t resettle, it perpetuates,” says Dina Rovner, legal adviser for UN Watch. “The result? A crisis that has lasted decades longer than any other.”
Among those classified as Palestinian refugees is Jordanian-American real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid and his five millionaire children, including supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid. Twenty-nine-year-old Zahwa Arafat, the billionaire daughter of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, also retains this status.
Under UNRWA’s unique framework, all descendants of Palestinian refugees “who lost both their home and means of livelihood in Mandate Palestine between 1946-1948 are eligible for refugee status,” regardless of wealth or nationality – a stark contrast to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which removes individuals from its registries once they are resettled or naturalized.
UNRWA, though, asserts that Palestinian refugee status is determined by the UN General Assembly, not the agency itself.
“Palestinian refugees were recognized under Resolution 194 before UNRWA existed, where human rights were not subjected to economic status,” says Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA’s senior communications manager. “In mass displacements, refugee status applies collectively and passes through generations, as seen with Afghan, Sudanese, and Sahrawi refugees”
“Yet, the difference is striking. After WWII, millions were displaced, primarily in Europe, but around 1.5 million were resettled by temporary UN agencies before UNHCR took over in 1952. In contrast, 77 years later, UNRWA remains a permanent institution, even as many, like the 2.4 million in Jordan who hold citizenship, continue receiving its assistance.”
This raises a pivotal question: Does UNRWA’s approach maintain statelessness rather than resolving it?
The debate over disparities
The controversy extends beyond definitions. Critics hold that UNRWA’s budget and staff allocation raise questions about its efficiency compared to other refugee agencies.
When first established, UNRWA’s annual budget was 110 times greater than UNHCRs. Today, it employs 30,000 staff for nearly six million refugees – a 1:200 ratio. In contrast, UNHCR, which serves around 32 million refugees globally, operates with 20,000 staff, translating to one staff member per 1,600 refugees.
“There is a clear inconsistency in how the world treats the Palestinians compared to other refugees,” says Rovner. “If they were under the UNHCR, the majority would not be considered eligible.”
Fowler counters the criticism, explaining that UNRWA’s economic and service model is fundamentally different and of significant value. “It was designed as a sustained relief and works program until a viable solution is achieved, much like the 1930s US Tennessee Valley Authority.” Moreover, he adds, “the value for money is extraordinary – hiring locals not only brings local benefits but also costs 40%-50% less than employing internationals.”
UNRWA under fire
As the debate over refugee classification rages on, Israel’s reports of UNRWA’s connections to terrorism have also dominated recent discussions. Citing its intelligence findings, Israeli authorities maintain that 10% of the agency’s senior educators in Gaza have ties to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“UNRWA’s response is always the same – to deflect, deny, and cover up. They never take responsibility. They claim to be a ‘humanitarian backbone’ in Gaza but promote Hamas propaganda, like it did with the Gaza famine narrative, which has been totally debunked,” charges Rovner.
However, there are also claims that UNRWA is being targeted politically, as Fowler indicates: “There’s a barrage of misinformation about who we are and who we’re not. We share all our staff lists with regional authorities, including Israel, and have never received pushback about specific employees before.”
Despite Israel’s push to dismantle UNRWA, many European nations have since reinstated funding after reviewing oversight measures and accounting for its critical humanitarian role. Fowler points to the recently commissioned and independent Colonna Report, which found UNRWA to have more robust neutrality standards than any other UN agency. Still, critics like Rovner, remain unconvinced, contending that the problem is systemic.
What happens if UNRWA does disappear?
With increasing calls within Israel and the United States to abolish UNRWA, the question arises: If UNRWA disappears, what happens next?
Fowler says that the organization has no intention of existing indefinitely, but it continues so far as the situation remains unresolved.
“Abolishing UNRWA ignores reality,” observes Fowler. “We are often thanked by Israeli authorities, albeit at the moment not so openly, for the work we do, because without us, the responsibility will fall on them.”
The topic of reform has come up quite a lot where UNRWA and the UN at large are concerned. Some believe that redefining Palestinian refugees under UNHCR rules could force a shift in the political deadlock. Others, though, insist not only is it too little, too late for reforms, but that they are insufficient in addressing the deeper issues.
“As long as UNRWA exists, there will always be a Palestinian right-of-return narrative that keeps the conflict alive. Palestinians have to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their own future. Without Palestinian self-determination, chances of a prosperous future are slim,” says Rovner.
Questions without answers
With funding cuts, Israeli bans, and growing global pressure, UNRWA finds itself at a crossroads. Today, it is continuing to operate, even on a limited scale – holding that as long as millions remain classified as refugees, it has a job to do.
Still, fundamental questions continue to go unanswered: Who should be classified a Palestinian refugee? Should refugee status be hereditary forever – even for those who live in luxury? Who should be responsible for the Palestinians? And what is Israel’s role?
With neither Israel disappearing nor the Palestinian refugee issue nearing resolution, UNRWA persists as a central fault line in one of the world’s most protracted conflicts. Whether the agency serves as a crucial humanitarian lifeline or a political roadblock to lasting peace depends entirely on whom you ask.
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