Slovakia

After the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993, sometimes called the “Peaceful (or Velvet) Divorce,” the Slovak Republic entered the European landscape as an independent state. Because of internal political issues, Slovakia was not included in the first wave of NATO expansion. However, in 2002, AJC was a vocal supporter of NATO membership for Slovakia, along Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

“By announcing early and loudly our support for NATO expansion, we are sending a very strong message. This is a defining moment in history, and we don’t want to be on the sidelines.”

– AJC CEO David Harris

Our cooperation with the Jewish Community

The opening of the Shapiro Silverberg Central Europe Office in Warsaw in March 2017 afforded AJC the opportunity to strengthen its friendship with Slovakia and its people. These ties are enhanced by AJC’s formal partnership agreement with the Slovak Federation of Jewish Communities (UZZNO) and through regular meetings with Slovak officials. We regularly organize virtual meetings and cooperate with Jewish leaders from the seven countries where we work, including UZZNO and the Jewish Community of Bratislava.

An AJC delegation meeting with then Slovak Minister of Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajčák in 2019

AJC CE’s relations with Slovak leaders and think-tank community

Slovakia has joined other Central European countries that support Israel in international fora. In May 2021, after Israel was attacked by thousands of Hamas rockets, Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok joined his Czech counterpart in visiting Jerusalem to demonstrate solidarity with Israel.

We have developed several projects focusing on Slovakia and/or involving Slovak partners such as with Dr. Daniel Milo, Senior Advisor at GLOBSEC, and Institute for Public Affairs’ President Grigorij Mesežnikov. We have published op-eds in leading Slovak media like Pravda and Sme.

Slovakia, like many other Central European countries, is still grappling with a wartime past that included a collaborationist Nazi government, which ordered and even paid German authorities to deport the country’s Jews to their deaths at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Slovak political leaders, spearheaded by the country´s president Zuzana Čaputová, are very much aware of, and coming to terms with, this unfortunate legacy. AJC is not only willing to assist in dealing with this painful history but also with many issues concerning today´s Slovakia and its Jewish community.