Shtip, 10 March 2024 (MIA) – Shtip marked on Sunday 81 years since the deportation of the Macedonian Jews to the Treblinka extermination camp. A commemorative session at the Municipality was attended by the Israeli Ambassador to North Macedonia, Simona Frankel, the Mayor of the Municipality of Shtip, Ivan Jordan, representatives of the Jewish community, as well as MPs and delegations from institutions.

Every year the Municipality of Shtip commemorates the 7144 Jews from the country, including 543 Jews from Shtip, who were killed in the Treblinka extermination camp.

“For me, it’s an honor, as every year, to be here for the commemoration of the Jewish community that was deported during the Holocaust and was sent first to Monopol, to the concentration camp in Monopol in Skopje, and then to the extermination camps in Poland where they were perished during the Holocaust. Unfortunately, very few people survived this extermination camp,” said the Israeli Ambassador.

The Ambassador also mentioned the war in Gaza and called for the immediate release of the 134 Israeli hostages.

“We know that among them there are 19 young women that are suffering from sexual harassment and sexual abuse being held in the tunnels of Hamas. We all have to act and call for their immediate release, and not to leave them there. Every day that we leave them in the tunnels and we don’t do everything in order to release them, we endanger their lives and it can cause their deaths. So, we would like to call for their immediate release as soon as possible,” said Frankel.

The Mayor of Shtip, Ivan Jordanov, said the Municipality commemorates the 543 Jews from Shtip that were deported to Treblinka, noting that the event should never be forgotten nor repeated.

“Because the Jewish community is an inseparable part of our past. We also have an obligation to deepen the cooperation that we have with the Jewish community, with the Jewish people. In the coming period, we definitely have a responsibility to include the Jewish community in the organization of joint cultural and artistic events,” said Jordanov.

As part of the commemorative events, a “Procession of the Living” was held from the building of the Municipality of Shtip to the monument of the Jews deported from Shtip. The Israeli Ambassador and other delegations paid a visit to Shtip’s Jewish Cemetery as well.

Photo: MIA