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To fully understand the sensitivity of the issue, one need only consider the importance of the Kosovo issue for Belgrade, with whom Israel has fostered warmer relations in recent years. With these words, the author Michael Freund, in the author’s text published for the Israeli “Jerusalem Post”, referred to the possibility that Israel would recognize the independence of Kosovo.
In a surprising political change last week, Israel gave in to US pressure and formally recognized the Serbian province of Kosovo as an independent state.
– Although the majority of the media welcomed this development with enthusiasm and even a little joy, we must not be fooled into thinking that it was the right decision. Certainly not. By recognizing Kosovo, Israel has made a major Balkan mistake, which is not only an insult to history, justice and common sense, but also undermines the Jewish state’s own national interests and will likely be a boomerang against us, he writes Freund.
The text further adds that this measure was first announced by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, on September 4 in the Oval Office in the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Avdulah Hoti, the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of Kosovo, during the signing of the agreement on economic normalization.
It marked a sudden turn in the Israeli position. For more than 12 years, since Kosovo unilaterally and illegally declared its secession from Serbia on February 17, 2008, Israel has refused to support an independent Kosovo in principle and with good reason.
“Delicate question”
To begin with, Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia, both legally and constitutionally. Supporting its secession means interfering in the internal affairs of another state, which is rarely a prudent step. How much more is the case in the Balkans, where border disputes, ethnic tensions and complex historical processes only further complicate the situation.
To fully understand the sensitivity of the issue, it is enough to consider the importance of the Kosovo issue to Belgrade, with whom Israel has fostered warmer relations in recent years.
In short, Kosovo is to Serbs what Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria are to Jews: the cradle of the nation, the place where it all began, explains the “Jerusalem Post.”
More than 800 years ago, Kosovo was the heart of Serbia and served as its cultural, spiritual and administrative center until the fateful Battle of Fushë Kosovë in 1389, when the Ottoman Turks defeated the Serbs and their allies.
Ultimately, Albanian migrants displaced Serbs from the area and now make up the vast majority of Kosovo’s population. But the territory of the province is dotted with ancient Serbian churches, monasteries and monuments. For Serbs, leaving Kosovo would be akin to cutting off their collective heart, a central organ vital to their national heritage and identity.
Therefore, although Serbia in the White House agreed to strengthen economic cooperation with Kosovo, they firmly refused to join their statehood, firmly defending their right to the land of their ancestors.
The Israeli recognition of Kosovo insults Serbia and threatens to overshadow the improvement of relations between the two countries, writes the author of this text.
It also sets a dangerous precedent that can easily be changed and used against the Jewish state. After all, if the Kosovars can unilaterally divide Serbia to create their own country, why can’t the Palestinians in Judea or the Israeli Arabs in Galilee?
Kosovo has tried to justify its demand for independence in the same way that the Palestinians have: invoking the right to self-determination.
But where this right begins and ends in international relations is, of course, a thorny and dangerous issue.
Really, what exactly are its limits?
For example, could the people of Brooklyn, in principle, claim to be a single nation with its own history, geography, cuisine, and even accent, and want to separate from the United States and form their own country?
Or what about the Catalans in Spain, the Corsicans in France, or the Scots in the UK, many of whom would like to establish independent nations?
If all ethnic minorities were allowed to exercise the right to self-determination, an endless cycle of chaos would ensue across the world.
Over the years, by opposing Kosovo’s independence as a principle, Israel has rightly been able to assert that it takes a consistent stance upholding the inviolability of sovereign borders. But, following the recognition of Kosovo, that coherence is now a thing of the past.
It is true that the agreement announced last week is not without benefits for Israel, because both Serbia and Kosovo, with a predominantly Muslim population, have committed to opening embassies in Jerusalem, further strengthening the international legitimacy of the status of the Holy City. as the capital of the Jewish state. Vučić and Hoti also agreed to ban the Hezbollah terrorist movement.
And, just a few weeks after the announcement of an agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, it gives air to the advance of the changes that are taking place in this part of the world.
But the fact is, this came at a very high price.
As Arthur Kohl, former Israeli ambassador to Serbia, told Media Line, “we are not connected to the conflict in the Balkans and we shouldn’t be.”
“I’m not sure it’s in Israel’s interest to get involved in this business,” Cole said, adding: “We are paying the price by giving up our principle, our long-standing policy. It is a step that could have future consequences for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict “.
By recognizing Kosovo, Israel struck a blow at its relations with Serbia, undermined its own stance on Palestinian self-determination and intervened in the dispute to which it did not belong.
Rather than accept Kosovo, Israel should nurture ties with Serbs, with whom Jews have a long and shared history of friendship and mutual respect.
Unfortunately, after the US elections in less than two months and the need for Washington to record foreign policy successes, politics once again triumphed over principle.
The writer, who was Deputy Director of Communications in the Prime Minister’s Office under Benjamin Netanyahu during his first term, is the president of the Israel-Serbian Friendship Association.
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