Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić Urges Wiesenthal Center Director for Eastern European Affairs, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, to Play Leading Role in Development of Staro Sajmiste Memorial Complex

September 14, 2022

Belgrade - Simon Wiesenthal Center Director for Eastern European Affairs, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here today at length with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at the Presidency. Accompanied by Israeli Ambassador to Serbia Yahel Vilan, Zuroff was greeted warmly by President Vučić, who expressed his deep gratitude for the Wiesenthal Center's protest against the Croatian government's refusal to allow him to visit the Jasenovac concentration camp. 

President Vučić also emphasized his determination to complete the development of the memorial and education center planned for the site of the former concentration camp of Staro Sajmište, and indicated the desire that Dr. Zuroff play a major role in its development. 

President Vučić also spoke at length about the historic friendship between Serbs and Jews and was pleased that Ambassador Vilan suggested that he meet Prime Minister Lapid at the UN General Assembly later this month. 

Yesterday, Zuroff dedicated a new state-of-the-art blood bank named for Serbian-Jewish hero Dr. David Albala in the main hospital in the southern Serbian city of Niš, met with Mayor Dragana Sotirovski, and visited the site of the "Red Cross concentration camp" where the Jews of Niš were incarcerated before being murdered by the Nazis. 

For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center: Tel: 972-2-563-1274 or Tel: 972-50-721-4156, follow the Center on Facebook, or @simonwiesenthal and @EZuroff for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).