Israel–Serbia relations
The diplomatic relations between Israel and Serbia were established on January 31, 1992, when Serbia was part of FR Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Israel has an embassy in Belgrade and Serbia had an embassy in Tel Aviv. Yugoslavia was the second country in Europe to recognize Israel in 1948. The two countries have economic and cultural ties, helped by a sizable community of Jews from the former Yugoslavia in Israel. Serbia agreed to move its embassy to Jerusalem on 4 September 2020 but decided not to after Israeli recognition of Kosovo as a sovereign state. History Ever since the 13th century there has been a recorded Jewish community of both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews in the city of Belgrade. The first Jews to settle in the city originally arrived from Italy and the city of Dubrovnik, and later on from Hungary and Spain. The Jewish communities of the Balkans saw significant influx in the 15th and 16th centuries by the arrival of Jewish refugees fleeing the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions. Sultan Bayezid II of the Ottoman Empire welcomed the Jewish refugees into his Empire. Jews became involved in trade between the various provinces in the Ottoman Empire, becoming especially important in the salt trade. In the northern province of Vojvodina, which was under Habsburg rule, Jews settled in the 18th century, particularly after the 1782 Edict of Tolerance by the Emperor Joseph II, which gave Jews a measure of religious freedom. The Jewish community developed substantially before and after World War I following the religious autonomy they have received, and many Jewish educational institutions and synagogues for both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic communities were established. By the year 1939 there were approximately 10,400 Jews living in Belgrade. Most of the Jews living in Serbia were killed during the Holocaust. During the war, many Jews were given refuge by the Yugoslav Partisans, led by Josip Broz Tito, and many of them fought along their side. Serbian civilians were involved in saving thousands of Yugoslavian Jews during this period. After the war, most of those who survived gradually emigrated to Israel. According to the 2011 census, there are 578 declared Jews in Serbia, living mainly in Belgrade and Vojvodina. SFR Yugoslavia and Israel established diplomatic relations in 1948. Until 1952, a total of 7,578 Jews emigrated from Yugoslavia to Israel. During the period, Yugoslavia was mostly neutral in the Arab–Israeli conflict, but maintained ties with Israel, helped by its sizable Jewish emigration. Yugoslavia severed all diplomatic relations with Israel following the Six-Day War in 1967, and it was following a pro-Arab policy since. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, newly formed FR Yugoslavia renewed the relations on January 31, 1992, seeking for certain international support as it was practically isolated from the international community during the Yugoslav Wars. Political relations Government of the Kingdom of Serbia, in exile at the time because of the German-Austrian occupation during the World War I, was the first government to officially endorse the Balfour Declaration which announced