Israeli envoy to Croatia accuses TV official of anti-Semitism

from Haaretz - Israel News

Israeli ambassador to Croatia, Shmuel Meirom, called on Tuesday for the dismissal of a programming council official at Croatian TV broadcaster HRT, accusing her of anti-Semitism.

Jadranka Kolarevic had attacked Ephraim Zuroff of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for speaking out against the broadcast of a concert by ultra-nationalist Croatian performer Marko "Thompson" Perkovic.

Perkovic's songs feature patriotic sentiment and nostalgia for the Ustasha regime, which collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War, and during whose rule (1941-1945) tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, Roma and anti-fascists were killed in concentration camps.

Perkovic's fans often wear black uniforms resembling those of the Ustasha army.

"Many people die daily in Palestine and he wants to comment on the situation in Croatia," Kolarevic said of Zuroff, who runs the Wiesenthal Centre's Israeli branch.

Meirom sent a letter to Croatian Parliamentary Speaker Vladimir Seks and HRT General Director Vanja Sutlic, demanding the dismissal of Kolarevic for what he called "deeply anti-Semitic" remarks.

While Seks has yet to react to the ambassador's request, Sutlic said it was not Meirom's place to interfere in Croatia's internal matters.