"I approach every new government with cautious hope and democratic respect," Robert Waltl, director of the Jewish Cultural Center in Ljubljana and one of the leaders of the small Jewish community in Slovenia, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
The interview came after Slovenia chose to vote in a strongly pro-Israel prime minister, Janez Jansa, for a fourth term. Under Jansa’s predecessor, Robert Golob, Slovenia became one of the most hostile countries towards Israel, alongside Ireland and Spain.
Is the community hopeful that matters will change under the new leadership?
"We sincerely hope the new government will understand that the Jewish community in Slovenia is not a foreign political actor, but an indigenous historical community with more than 700 years of continuous presence on this territory - a presence that was almost completely destroyed during the Holocaust," he told the Post.
Anti-Israel rhetoric crossed into open antisemitism
He said that, in recent years, especially after October 7, there has been a rise in radical anti-Israel rhetoric that too often crossed the line into open antisemitism. In many cases, Waltl continued, parts of the political and cultural left failed to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and hostility directed toward local Jews.
"Many members of our community feel exhausted," he told the Post. "Over the last two years, we have repeatedly faced boycott campaigns, intimidation on social media, harassment, and public accusations simply because we are Jews or because we refused to deny Israel’s right to exist.
Since November 16, 2023, when the entrance doors of the country's Jewish Cultural Center were vandalized with graffiti equating swastikas with the Star of David, the center has been under police protection.
Waltl praised the police for their professionalism, adding "we are grateful for their seriousness and support regarding security concerns."
On a personal level, he said the atmosphere has become "deeply troubling."
"Only yesterday, people shouted after me in the street that I was 'a murderer of Palestinian children' and called for a boycott of the theater I direct. Today, near the Jewish Cultural Center in Ljubljana, an unknown man rode past twice shouting 'Auschwitz,' 'Juden raus,' and 'we will kill all of you.' These are no longer abstract fears. This is becoming part of everyday reality for Jews across Europe."
Waltl said that the community received virtually no systematic state support from the previous government we received.
"It is true the previous government was active within the framework of the IHRA, of which I am also a member. A declaration against antisemitism was adopted, and an intergovernmental interministerial committee for combating antisemitism was established."
"However, unfortunately, these initiatives did not lead to any significant concrete financial effects or meaningful support for projects connected to Jewish communal and cultural life," he said.
Slovenia's Jewish community today
The Jewish community in Slovenia is extremely small, numbering only a few hundred people, most of whom live in Ljubljana.
Nevertheless, despite its small size, over the past decade it has managed to rebuild visible Jewish life almost from nothing.
Through the Jewish Cultural Center Ljubljana, educational programs, exhibitions, theater productions, Holocaust remembrance projects, interfaith dialogue, publications, concerts, and international cooperation, Waltl said the community has succeeded in reintroducing Jewish culture into Slovenian public space after decades of near-erasure.
It also has an active Reform/Liberal Jewish community, representing an important historical step after many decades during which organized Jewish religious life in Slovenia was almost nonexistent.
Today, the community operates in rented premises that it renovated largely on its own, becoming heavily indebted in the process. The Jewish Cultural Center survives primarily because of the support of Mini Teater, which itself faces serious financial difficulties, partly because it has carried the burden of supporting the center for many years, Waltl explained.
He said the long-term goal is to purchase the premises from Mini Teater and secure a "more stable and independent future" for Jewish life in Slovenia.
"I must say openly that without support from international Jewish organizations, Jewish communities abroad, and Israel itself, it will be very difficult for our community to survive in the long term," he told the Post.
With the support of the Rothschild Foundation, the community is now preparing the first permanent exhibition dedicated to Jewish presence in the territory of present-day Slovenia: from the Roman Empire to the present day.
The exhibition will open in September.
"Perhaps the opening of our permanent exhibition in September can also serve as a reminder that Jewish history is deeply connected to the history of Slovenia itself, and that preserving Jewish life here is part of preserving Slovenia’s own cultural and historical identity," he said.
"I sincerely hope the new government will understand that supporting Jewish life is not a geopolitical issue, but a question of protecting European memory, minority culture, and democratic values," he said.
"We do not ask for privileges. We ask for recognition, security, dialogue, and equal treatment. Whether this understanding will truly develop under the new government remains to be seen," he concluded.