Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to North Macedonia
North Macedonia: its Jewish community, the Holocaust and relations with "Israel"
About 200 Jews live in North Macedonia, according to the World Jewish Congress (WJC), which says that about 98% of the community was murdered in the Holocaust, proportionately "the highest loss of any Jewish community during the Shoah".[1] North Macedonia abstained on the September 2025 UN resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.[2]
Jewish community
Most Macedonian Jews live in Skopje, with a handful in Bitola. The Jewish Community in the Republic of Macedonia is the WJC's affiliate. In Bitola, the building at 24 Ruzveltova Street that housed the left-wing Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair still stands; many of its members joined the armed resistance.[1]
Holocaust
Before the Holocaust there were nearly 8,000 Jews in Bitola and some 3,000 in Skopje. Macedonia came under Bulgarian control in 1941, and in 1943 almost all its Jews were deported to Treblinka. The WJC says that after 1945 the community was "virtually non-existent", as many survivors emigrated to "Israel".[1]
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
The Israeli foreign ministry's 2011 list of missions records relations with Macedonia as established in December 1995, with "Israel" represented by its ministry in Jerusalem and an honorary consul.[3] The WJC says that "Israel" recognised the country under its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia, rather than the provisional UN reference, and is represented by an honorary consul.[1]
Arms trade
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) records three Hermes-450 reconnaissance drones ordered in 2008 and K-6 120mm mortars ordered in 2021 for Stryker mortar carriers.[4]
Trade
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth $14.8 million from North Macedonia in 2025 (2024: $11.7 million) and exported goods worth $4.2 million to it (2024: $4.9 million).[5]
See also
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Albania
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 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 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 North Macedonia worldjewishcongress.org, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 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).
- ↑ Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011.
- ↑ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, trade register for Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, data generated 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy).