Opinion
Despite Slovenia's politics, Israelis are flocking to the Balkans
Zaki Cooper recounts a visit to Slovenia
September 30, 2018 08:41
1 min read
Zaki Cooper recounts a visit to Slovenia
September 30, 2018 08:41We were in a remote part of Slovenia on holiday with another Jewish family from north London. The mountain scenes were idyllic: the grass surrounding the streams and lakes was lush, and the sun was shining.
We were miles away from life in London, literally and metaphorically. This place has middle of nowhere written all over it.
To keep the group of kids entertained, we decided to take a boat trip. While waiting to pay, a young couple walked up behind us. They are speaking Hebrew.
Hebrew! The language of our forefathers. Then they were joined by another couple. Before we know it, there is a large group of 30 of them. A group of Israelis in a remote part of northern Slovenia. Who would have thought?
Bumping into Israelis became a pattern on our eight-day holiday last month to this small, picturesque country that is perhaps most famous these days for being Melania Trump’s birthplace.
Wherever we went, we encountered Israelis and heard Hebrew. We saw people eating Bisli snacks, a couple on honeymoon cooking kosher food by a lake and a group of men with kippot.
A quick look online confirmed our experience that Slovenia has become a popular destination for Israelis. A survey two years ago revealed that the numbers of Israelis visiting this central European country has increased by a greater percentage than for any other.
Slovenia, which gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, has a burgeoning tourist industry. Its ski resorts and mountain hiking are increasingly popular.
The ubiquity of Israelis is well-known in certain countries — India, Thailand and Greece among them — but clearly this has spread to the Balkans.
Our pre-visit research had not led us to expect this. Before the trip, my e-mail exchange with one of the leaders of the small Jewish community had highlighted the challenging circumstances facing the community. His tone was downbeat: he had told me the shul and mikvah in the capital Ljubljana were permanently closed and there were not enough regular congregants for a minyan.
More alarmingly, he reported that shechita and brit milah are prohibited and, sadly for Jewish tourists, there was no kosher restaurant. He had also warned that the Jewish Cultural Centre in Ljubljana, despite its benign name, was home to far-left activists.
Our research showed Israel-Slovenia relations are not particularly strong either after a row broke out over proposals for the Ljubljana government to recognise Palestine. A parliamentary vote was later suspended.
The experience of our trip showed that while geopolitics is one thing, a good holiday destination is another. Given the numbers in which they have come, Israelis are nothing if not pragmatic.
