The National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina has announced that it will donate all proceeds from the sale of its publication “Sarajevo Haggadah - History and Art”, along with ticket sales to the exhibit space housing the Sarajevo Haggadah, to Palestinian aid. The decision has stirred sharp international reactions due to both the political overtones of the statement and the historic and cultural significance of the Jewish manuscript at the center of the museum’s collection.
In its declaration, the museum accused the State of Israel of committing acts of “systematic, calculated and cold-blooded terror” and blamed the wider international community for enabling these actions through passive or active support. The statement went further, declaring: “In this way, the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina provides support to the people of Palestine who suffer systematic, calculated and cold-blooded terror, directly from the state of Israel, and indirectly from all those who support and/or justify it in its shameless actions.”
The museum further claimed that “any aversion, any feigned neutrality in the face of everyday examples of killing, starvation and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians, primarily women and children, is an expression of acceptance and complicity in the genocide that we are all witnessing in real time.”
In addition to citing alleged human rights violations, the museum stated that the conflict is accompanied by what it described as an assault on cultural and religious heritage. It claimed there is a “targeted erasure of the cultural and religious identity, primarily of Muslims and Christians of Palestine,” and cited the destruction and repurposing of historic religious sites, cultivated land, and community spaces as evidence.
The museum's decision has drawn sharp condemnation from Jewish organizations and observers around the world. B’nai B’rith International issued a strong rebuke, arguing that the museum’s move distorts the historical narrative of the Sarajevo Haggadah and politicizes a sacred cultural relic. “We deplore the announcement by the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina that it has chosen to politicize the Sarajevo Haggadah—a Jewish cultural treasure—by falsely accusing Israel of ‘genocide’ and diverting proceeds from its publication and exhibit to fund donations to a non‑existent ‘Palestinian state,’” the organization stated.
The statement from B’nai B’rith further emphasized the contradiction between the message of the Haggadah and the museum’s actions: “The Haggadah tells the story of Jewish endurance in the face of persecution; using it as a weapon against the Jewish state twists its very meaning.” The organization added, “The Sarajevo Haggadah is part of the Jewish story. It should never be turned into a tool for hatred of Israel.”
The Sarajevo Haggadah itself is a manuscript of exceptional historical, artistic, and religious significance. Written in 14th-century Barcelona, it contains elaborate illuminations and unique marginalia that reflect the coexistence of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim artistic traditions of the time. The manuscript was smuggled out of Spain during the Inquisition and eventually found its way to Sarajevo, where it has remained a symbol of cultural preservation and interfaith protection.
Over the centuries, the Haggadah survived numerous threats, including the expulsion of Jews from Spain, Nazi efforts to seize Jewish treasures, and the violence of the Bosnian War. During World War II, the manuscript was saved from Nazi confiscation by a Muslim curator who hid it in a mosque outside Sarajevo. Later, during the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, the Haggadah was once again hidden to protect it from destruction.
Its survival is often cited as a testament to human resilience and solidarity across religious lines. That symbolism has made the Haggadah not only a rare and precious artifact but also a unifying emblem of coexistence and survival. It has been exhibited under tight security in a special vault at the National Museum and has drawn visitors from across the globe.