"Did You Take a Break From Genocide?": Israelis Harassed in Montenegro

A serious antisemitic incident took place in the town of Plav in Montenegro. A group of Israeli tourists was verbally harassed on the street by a local man and woman. The disturbing encounter began when the two heard the young travelers speaking Hebrew among themselves. The local man began recording the incident on his cellphone, shouted at them, and uploaded the video to social media, where it quickly went viral and drew condemnation from Israelis and users outside Israel.

During the recording, the man and woman hurled hateful accusations at the travelers. Among other things, they were heard saying to them, “Did you take a break from genocide?” and “You should not be going out sightseeing. Stay in the place you call Israel.” The two continued following the group and shouting “baby killers” at them, while the woman accompanying the cameraman yelled that they “should be ashamed.”

The Israeli tourists remained calm and did everything they could to avoid a physical confrontation or any escalation. In the footage, one of the young men can be heard calmly telling the man filming, “Keep walking, do not talk to us. You do not know me.” Another member of the group can be heard saying to his friends in Hebrew, trying to calm things down: “Leave it, leave it. Do not pay attention to him.” Despite those efforts, the harasser would not let up and kept shouting at one of the travelers: “I know your mother kills children.”

The town of Plav is located in a mountainous area in northeastern Montenegro, near the border with Albania and Kosovo. The town is known for its large Muslim population and its distinct cultural character. Sadly, this case joins a long list of similar incidents around the world recently, in which speaking Hebrew in public spaces in foreign countries has become a real risk for Israeli travelers.