Elma Softić-Kaunitz
In the aftermath of the Holocaust horrors, when the Jewish communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina resumed their activities once again, a need to form a Jewish women’s organization arose. The first Jewish Woman organization in Bosnia and Herzegovina was formed in 1946, with the establishment of the Women’s Section of the Sarajevo Jewish Community. This dire period demanded maximum engagement from every single Jewish female and male in the process of reorganization of the depopulated communities. The first fundamental task was providing assistance to male and female survivors returning from concentration camps and refuge, as well as the infrastructure reconstruction of the communities. In accordance with the traditions of the period women were mainly engaged in programs concerning social protection – aiding the ailing and the elderly, especially the war orphans. The Women’s Section thus organized the reception of war orphans and their accommodation in new families and homes. Summer camps were also organized in which women volunteered as instructors, teachers, cooks, doctors and nurses.
After the decline of the requirement for special engagement in caretaking of endangered community members, the women moved on to different activities so their new task was the organization of common festivities during Jewish holydays as well as other events significant both to Jewish communities worldwide and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Women’s Section contribution was significant, especially in regard to organization and work done with children and the youth in nourishing stronger Jewish identity and dedication to Jewish values. Through the organization of numerous lectures, literary manifestations, art exhibitions and such similar events the Women’s Section was actively participating in the promotion of Jewish culture and art, both amid the Jewish population and the Bosnian society in general.
In 1992 an atrocious war begins in Bosnia and Herzegovina which lasted nearly four years. Sarajevo was under siege for 1335 days, or 44 months. When we mention the siege of Sarajevo we must bear in mind that a city of 400.000 citizens was completely cut off from the rest of the world – without running water, electricity, gas and telephone connections, without road or railway communication, and under daily artillery barrages and sniper fire. The Sarajevo Jewish Community had to completely reorganize its agenda and adjust to the newly risen situation in order to help its members in relieving the horrific conditions under which the city tried to survive. The Women’s Section under the guidance of Mrs. Sonja Elazar provided an immeasurable contribution to a well-run and efficient organization of various activities in the Sarajevo Jewish Community. During the period the Women’s Section of the Sarajevo Jewish Community gets its name and thus becomes the “Bohorete” Women’s Section. The name was acquired from Laura Papo Bohoreta, a female writer and educator, who wrote in Judeo-Espanol – the language of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Sephardic Jews, and who left an immensely valuable collection of short stories, poems and theatrical acts, along with the important research “The Sephardic Woman in Bosnia”.
The “Bohoretes” were engaged in arranging a convoy, organized by the Sarajevo Jewish Community, with which children and the elderly left the besieged city. For those ailing and elderly members wishing not to leave their homes, the women formed a team which provided these people with the necessary help and care. They organized daily visits, bringing food from the kitchen of the Jewish Cultural-Educational and Humanitarian Society “La Benevolencija”, provided them with water and much needed medicines, they made sure that the elderly would receive medical care and treatment from the doctors and nurses working in the “La Benevolencija’s” clinic, and provided them with mail and messages coming into the city through various channels. A social service organized in this manner was the foundation for the subsequent establishment of an extensive program aiming to aid the elderly and needy – “LA Benevolencija Home Care Program”, which operates even today. It is interesting to point out that very quickly the program beneficiaries included also various citizens of Sarajevo and not necessarily of Jewish background. The “Bohoretes” took care of the distribution of the various donations such as clothes and other goods which were arriving to the Sarajevo Jewish Community due to the efforts of “La Benevolencija”.
Children who stayed in besieged Sarajevo were amongst the most imperiled citizen groups in the city. Amongst the various activities of the “Bohorete” Women’s Section, Mrs. Elazar took care to organize the “Sunday School”, and the first teachers and instructors were “Bohorete” members. The children gathered in the premises of the Sarajevo Jewish Community, were they learned about Jewish history and tradition, socialized and played. For these children spending time in the Jewish Community was the only possibility to get out of apartments and basement shelters in which they, because of the constant barrage and continuous sniper fire, spent most of their time. The “Sunday School” gathers children even today, and in 2012 will mark its 25 years of existence.
The “Bohorete” had branches in Makarska and Split, Croatia, where a significant number of Jewish refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina found shelter. The activities of the Women’s Section were coordinated by the Jewish Community of Split along with La Benevolencija’s logistical center also located in Split. “Bohorete” in Makarska and Split , with the help of local Jewish women, continued caring for the elderly, organizing gatherings, visits and Jewish activities. Under the guidance of Mrs. Lenka Bilalagić, women from Sarajevo and Split gathered under the name “Menora” and produced crocheted kippot which were distributed by JDC throughout the world. This was a way for Jewish refugee women from Bosnia and Herzegovina to earn some pocket money. Along with the kippa which was embroidered with the “Menora” sign in the world went the story about the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, about the siege of Sarajevo, and also about the activities of the Jewish Community of Sarajevo, the Jewish Cultural-Educational and Humanitarian Society “La Benevolencija” as well as about the “Bohorete”. “Bohorete” become the member of ICJW in 1994.
After the war the Sarajevo Jewish Community, the Jewish Cultural-Educational and Humanitarian Society “La Benevolencija” and the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina continued with their efforts even more intensively. Even though the armed conflict has ceased and death under shelling were no longer a threat, a normal life in the war-stricken country and devastated society was not established in full capacity for a long period of time. Accordingly, during a certain period of time some of the activities which the “Bohorete” initiated during the war were operational. Nevertheless, as the time moved on and the general situation normalized, the “Bohorete” were shifting their focus. With the current President – Mrs. Nela Levi, the “Bohorete” shifted the majority of its activities from humanitarian and social programs to the organization of community life in peacetime conditions. Apart from their traditional duty of organizing Jewish festivities, and commemorating various important dates in Jewish history, they participate in the organization of various cultural manifestations which have a broader social importance. In this regard it is important to underline the regular participation in the organization of The European Day of Jewish Culture, the commemoration of January 27th – the International Holocaust Commemoration Day, participation in the organization of “Evenings of Sephardic Cuisine” which traditionally take place during the Sarajevo summer festivities, as well as the organization of numerous concerts, exhibitions, poetry meetings, lectures, film projections organized by “La Benevolencija”, etc. Members of the “Bohorete” as representatives of the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina are members of the Women’s Group of the Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is important to stress that the “Bohorete” conduct intensive activity in regard to the strengthening and development of international relations and accordingly organize twice a year meetings with representatives of women’s groups of various national and religious organizations.
The women are full and equal members in the leadership of the Jewish Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as presidents and members of several communities have an impact on the policies of the Jewish Community of BiH and its promotion in the society.
The Union of Jewish Woman in Bosnia and Herzegovina was also formed and its members are comprised of Jewish women from six Bosnian and Herzegovinian Jewish communities. The President of the Union of Jewish Woman in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mrs. Rahela Džidić, produced an educational program of seminars for Jewish women. In cooperation with the “Bohorete” a series of seminars were organized, specifically from 2006 until today 11 seminars were organized discussing themes such as the role of the woman in a Jewish community, and the position of women in society in general. It is important to point out that the JDC has enabled the organization of these seminars with its financial assistance. Jewish women in Bosnia and Herzegovina actively participate in all Jewish social gatherings which take place in the region of South East Europe, but also in the work of ICJW conferences within the financial possibilities of their respective communities.
