Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina: its Jewish community, relations with "Israel" and arms exports
Between 500 and 1,100 Jews live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to an estimate by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research cited by the World Jewish Congress (WJC).[1] "Israel" has no embassy in the country.[1]
Jewish community
The community is mainly Sephardic. The Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the WJC's affiliate, and the WJC says that it "actively participates in mediating between the various faiths".[1]
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
The Israeli foreign ministry's 2011 list of missions records relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina as established in September 1997, with "Israel" represented by its ministry in Jerusalem.[2] The WJC says that relations "are steadily improving" and that an honorary consul of Bosnia and Herzegovina in "Israel" was appointed in December 2017.[1]
Arms exports
According to figures from the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina reported by Dnevni avaz, the country exported weapons worth 1,209,876 convertible marks (KM) to "Israel" in 2023, compared with KM392,754 in 2022. The main items exported included explosives, gunpowder, detonating fuses, percussion caps and detonators.[3]
Trade
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth $9.7 million from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2025 (2024: $8.4 million) and exported goods worth $1.3 million to it (2024: $1.8 million).[4]
Political interference
UN voting
Bosnia and Herzegovina voted in favour of the September 2025 General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.[5]
See also
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Albania
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Bulgaria
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Croatia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Greece
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Kosovo
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Montenegro
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to North Macedonia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Romania
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Serbia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Slovenia
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 World Jewish Congress, Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina worldjewishcongress.org, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011.
- ↑ Dnevni avaz, Podaci Vanjskotrgovinske komore: Koliko smo oružja izvezli u Izrael!? avaz.ba, 22 January 2024, accessed 25 October 2026 (in Bosnian).
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy).
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly, Recorded vote on A/80/L.1/Rev.1: Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, 12 September 2025 (copy hosted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi).