About this talk

With a little bit of Balkan and a little bit of Central and Eastern European vibes, this tour will take you on a journey through a country with a turbulent history. A country which had one foot in the Ottoman Empire and the other in the Austro-Hungarian, it's no wonder that Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews of Serbia didn't talk to each other. Sounds familiar, right?!

The tour will explore the history and culture of the Sephardi and Ashkenazi communities that have inhabited present-day Serbia. We will discover who was rabbi Judah Alkalai, how Theodor Herzl is connected to Serbia, how the first football team in Serbia is connected to the Jews, and a lot more. We will explore the role of Jewish communities during the bitter times in regional history - the World Wars and the breakup of Yugoslavia. We will conclude our tour with an overview of the contemporary Jewish life in Serbia. 

About Sonja

Sonja Viličić was born in Subotica, Serbia, and has a rich Jewish education and community development background. Currently serving as the Executive Director of NGO Haver Srbija, Sonja leads initiatives combating prejudice and promoting active citizenship through educational programs exploring Jewish culture. Her work benefits the Jewish community and fosters a more inclusive society in Serbia. Additionally, she serves as a Jewish educator at the European Union of Jewish Students, a project leader for the Federation of Jewish Communities of Serbia, a facilitator at MASA Leadership Center, and an advisory board member at the Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund.