Pristina—Kosovo’s deputy foreign minister, Petrit Selimi, recently urged American Jewish groups to get Israel to recognize the 5-year-old country Kosovo—a former province of Yugoslavia and victim of the war that raged for ten years. It is where Slobodan Milosevic triggered the genocide that raced through the Balkans until it was stopped by NATO airstrikes on Serbia and the Dayton Accords. Milosevic was brought to trial in The Hague, in a case that lasted five years, but died before he could be convicted of war crimes.

Thousands of Kosovars in the Stankovic refugee camp in Macedonia were cared for by Israeli doctors, who were the first to arrive with field hospitals as refugees flooded the border, and the Israeli Council of Youth Movements, which provided activities for thousands of children. Later the refugees were transferred to Fort Dix, NJ and many settled in the U.S. with the help of American Jews, including members of the Second Generation from Englewood, New Milford and other towns in the region.

Citing the efforts of rescuers of Jews in Kosovo during the Holocaust, Selimi told JTA, the newswire service, “With such a deep, historic link, it’s only natural to have Israeli recognition. Israel is not just a country, it is an important country, influential in the community of nations.” But Israel is close to Serbia and did not want to annoy the Russians who were against Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008.

Selimi was speaking to the National Conference Supporting Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia, with delegates from Israel, American Jewish organizations—the ADL, HIAS and Bnai Brith. JTA reports that the group did not commit to pressing Kosovo’s case to Israel at this time.