EXCLUSIVE Israeli Ambassador to Serbia speaks for Telegraf: Jewish and Serbian people have much in common

Israel's ambassador to Serbia, Avivit Bar-Ilan, realized her dream when she was appointed as that country's representative in the homeland of her ancestors.

Her father was born in Belgrade, her grandparents in the nearby town of Pancevo, and not only her roots but also the wonderful memories of her loved ones tie her to Serbia.

In an exclusive interview with Telegraf.rs, the ambassador spoke about those ties, the special nature of Israeli women and how she and her daughters served in the army, but also about the key issues that currently shape the political and security situation in the Middle East.

We discussed the increasingly important cooperation between Israel and Serbia, the efforts to achieve peace in negotiations with Hamas, as well as the challenges related to the release of hostages.

The ambassador shed light for Telegraf.rs on the details of the diplomatic efforts, but also indicated the key steps that both sides must take in order to ensure a sustainable peace.

• Your Excellency, it is interesting that you are connected to Serbia not only through your work. Your father was born in Belgrade, and your grandmother and grandfather in Pancevo... How much does this "prior knowledge" about our country, culture and traditions help you in your work?

The best way to explain my feelings is to that I feel at home here, from the first day I arrived in Serbia. The fact that I am reconnecting with my roots here in Serbia of course helps me a lot in committing my duties here as the Israeli ambassador and I am very much excited to serve as the Israeli ambassador the Republic of Serbia. Me being posted here is a dream come true and I am very much honored to be here.

• International Women's Day has recently been marked, and I would like to highlight an interesting fact about Israel, specifically about women. It is known that women in Israel serve in the army, but they are also an extremely important link in the overall security sector. Women in Israel hold leading positions in security agencies, which is not the case in most other countries. What makes Israeli women so special?

Israeli women are special, by fact. But I thing the involvement of women in Israel's government and security system began in the early days of the state of Israel. We had women fighters in the resistance movement, even before the state of Israel was created. And women were drafted to the military, we have mandatory military service in Israel. I don't know if you would be surprised but my mother served in the military. I also served , as did my two daughters. Moreover, my youngest (daughter) is now an active soldier in the Israeli military.

For us it is very natural. Of course, from the female point of view we are not always satisfied. We think there is room for improvement of the role of women in the military and defense sector. We are very proud of the Supreme Court ruling in 1995, when a young woman wanted to become a pilot in the Israeli Air Force, and at that time women were not allowed to be accepted to the training program of pilots in the Israeli military. She appealed to the Supreme Court and won the case. Since that year, 95 percent of combat duties in the Israeli army are open to female fighters.

I was very proud of the role women played in the recent war we wre facing, with Hamas. I don't know if you know that when Israeli planes were attacking Tehran a few months ago, some of the pilots sitting in the cockpits were female pilots. The role of women fighters during the October 7, the first day the war broke out, was very important, crucial... They saved the lives of many innocent civilians, and some of them died in the line of duty, and we should all cherish their memory.

• Speaking about impressive women, you also have a very impressive biography, and expertise in security, so I would like to ask you about your opinion about global security. We are aware, just like you said, with everything that's been happening in your country for the past two years, and before, as well as what's been happening in Ukraine, in your opinion, will we continue to live in turbulent times for much longer or can we hope for some sustainable peace on all fronts, soon?

We are definitely facing global changes. In my region, in the Middle East, we are facing tectonic changes that started with the outbreak of war on October 7 and led to major changes in the region that are still happening. With the start of the war, Israel faced attacks from six different fronts - from Hamas in Gaza, from Hezbollah in Lebanon, from Shia militia groups in Syria, in Iraq, Houthis in Yemen... And there were direct attacks on Israel from Iran, with hundreds of rockets targeting at Israel.

And after more than 15 months of this war, I am satisfied with the results and that Iran has lost its grip on all its proxies in the region. They also lost a lot of their influence. And now we are facing a new era when a new government was formed in Lebanon and Hezbollah is very much shrinking its position and losing its dominance that they for many years. I hope and pray for a better future for the people of Lebanon.

In Syria, it is too early to determine the results, but definitely those pro-Assad forces and Hezbollah lost there. Now we need to see if the new regime there will be moderate enough and looking for cooperation in the region. Definitely with the involvement of the Trump administration we are hoping very much hoping for a regional arrangements for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, which could also lead to a peace agreement between Israel and its neighbors, other countries, we don't have peace agreements yet, for example with Saudi Arabia. So definitely the coming months, (are) with a lot of possibilities of positive developments.

• You mentioned October 7, so it has been 17 months since the horrific Hamas attack on Israel, and soon it will be two months since the ceasefire. However, Hamas still holds more than 50 hostages. How are the negotiations progressing? Any indications that all hostages will be released soon?

We are now entering a very dramatic phase of negotiations, which will determine the fate of the hostages who remain in Gaza. We estimate that about 54 are still in the hands of Hamas. Of that number, more than 20 are still alive. The testimonies of the hostages that came back from Gaza are horrible, describing terrible conditions, starvation, humiliation... Some of them were tortured in prisons, did not see daylight for 15, 16 months, and were treated very, very badly.

Today there is an Israeli delegation that will go to Doha, Qatar, to resume negotiations, and we will know in the next few days if this will lead to the extension of the ceasefire that would lead to the return of all hostages, including Alon Ohel, a young Israeli pianist, who is 24 years old and has dual citizenship - Israeli and Serbian.

I hope very much and call for his release. This young man deserves a better future. He did nothing but dance at a dancing party next to the Gaza border. He was kidnapped from there 17 months ago.

• Speaking of Alon, can you tell me if you have any information about his condition and of all the other hostages?

One of the hostages that came back was imprisoned with Alon and he told us extensively about his situation. First of all, he didn't recognize Alon from the photo. Because Alon, imprisoned, now looks much worse and does not resemble this picture. We understand he lost a lot of weight. His legs are chained around the clock, and the most severe problem is that when he was kidnapped, he was injured and lost eyesight in one eye. We are very much concerned that this will influence his eyesight in the other eye.

His situation is very dire and he needs urgent medical treatment and he must be released as soon as possible.

• Your appeal has also been heard because citizens continue to gather daily in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square. The scenes are very emotional, the appeal is heard all over the world. Can you tell me what is the current situation in Israel in terms of public sentiment? What is the way people in Israel live now? Is life in the kibbutzim that were attacked in October back?

Definitely, our society and the state of Israel wrre facing one of the hardest times since the establishment of the state of Israel. Never before we witnessed such atrocities and horrific attacks on Israel from six different fronts. I am very proud of the Israeli society's resilience and I'm very proud to be a part of it because, the Israeli society ptoved that no matter what happens, we are here to stay, together, to support each other and to win this war.

You have to understand that all those soldiers fighting in the war - our sons, our husbands, our wives - many of those soldiers who are fighting are reservists. They left their jobs and went to the front and are fighting for many months.

The call to release the hostages, as a mother, as a woman, is a moral obligation is to return those innocent people homes. They did nothing, and they were kidnapped in their pajamas that morning, that Saturday, October 7. They deserve it, it is the moral obligation of all of us to bring them back home. This is what is happening in the square in Tel Aviv, calling for their immediate return.

• How do you comment on the statements of US President Donald Trump and his clear message to Hamas about what will happen if they do not bring the hostages back? Do you think they will take his words seriously and free the people?

If I were Hamas, I would definitely do that, because I think for Hamas, watching what happened in our neighborhood, they understand that their alternative can be much worse. They look at what happened to Haniyeh and Sinwar, the leaders who were assassinated by Israeli forces, to Nasrallah who also lost his life in not a natural way. They definitely must choose between an agreement or total destruction. I hope they make the right decision.

Definitely we are very grateful and grateful to President Trump who all his efforts in the release of the remaining hostages. The support of the US is here but tell me about the rest of the world. Is the support still as strong as after the attack in October. I am very grateful for the support from the friends of Israel during the times of crisis.

And you know - "a friend in need, is a friend indeed."

I would like to thank very much the friendship of the Serbian government, of President Vucic, with their warm, not only in words but also in deeds in supporting the state of Israel in one of its hardest times ever. The visit of President Herzog here and the warm welcome was one of the examples of the strong ties that our two countries have. And definitely. the visit of (Serbian) Foreign Minister Djuric to Israel about two weeks ago was very much important and significant. We manged to discuss our bilateral relations and ways to expand it, because we have a lot in common, the Jewish people, the Serbian people. It's so natural for us to do more together, to supplement each other in that way.

• How do you see the relationship between our countries and the improvement in political but especially economic way?

The potential is huge. Definitively, that is one of my aims here as the ambassador. To bring our economic ties into new heights. The presidents were discussing doubling the trade volume. Another mission is definitely to increase our tourist connections, to have Air Serbia flying to Israel again. We have Israeli airlines flying to Serbia. The number of Israeli tourists visiting Serbia is increasing, especially last year, in the year of the war... Because people feel very comfortable to come and visit a friendly country.

I really hope that within a year we will witness a big increase in the number of tourists visiting Israel, and Israeli tourists coming to visit Serbia.

• Another thing that connects us is sports, and I have to mention Maccabi. You attended their matches, do the club and the players really consider Belgrade a second home?

It's amazing and this is yet another example of the warm welcome Israelis get here in Serbia. This is the second season that Maccabi Tel Aviv is playing in Belgrade and we are overwhelmed with the warm welcome and support. Every Israeli fan, who returns to Israel, is a new ambassador of Serbia and Israel, because they all come back with very positive feelings and stories about how they were very warmly welcomed here. I hope that next season Maccabi will be able to come back and play in Israel, that the war will be over and there will be no need for a third season. Certainly, this shows once again how strong relations are between the two nations and thank you Serbia for hosting Maccabi Tel Aviv.

(Telegraf.rs)