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Senior Fellow Qali Nur (2016 Amsterdam Fellowship) and Natali Khalili Tari have started crowdfunding in order to realize their documentary ‘Between Mountains and Wars’.
About the Documentary
When people think of Bosnia, to most, the 90’s war and ethnic divisions immediately come to mind, but in Sarajevo, a city where Sephardic Jews sought refuge over 400 years ago, the Jewish community lives in coexistence alongside their Muslim, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian neighbors. Ester Kaveson Debevec, Rifka Albahari Raus & Laura Papo Ostojić, three Sephardic women between the ages of 79- 87 not only lived through the 90’s war but have also survived the Second World War. At the heart of the documentary is the women’s focal point of the congregation; the Jewish community center. It is situated in the only active synagogue in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Once making up 1/5th of the population in Sarajevo, the community now survives only in its hundreds. Ester, Rifka, and Laura’s stories each present hope in a backdrop of a horrific history. Non-Jewish neighbors and friends helped them survive the second world war as children. Almost half a century later, the three women did their utmost to help their fellow Sarajevans survive the siege regardless of ethnicity or religion.
You can find more information about the documentary and crowdfunding here.
“For most Bosnia is reminiscent of ethno-religious tensions, but in Sarajevo 3 Jewish women, survivors of two wars, tell a different & forgotten story.”