Zuroff: Srebrenica was not genocide, but a war crime

Israeli Holocaust historian and Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Efraim Zuroff, stated today that he is eagerly awaiting the completion of the Staro Sajmiste Memorial Center, which he described as an excellent platform for educating both the local population and international visitors about Ustasha crimes, Euronews reports. Commenting on how the term genocide is interpreted today, Zuroff reiterated his stance that the events in Srebrenica do not constitute genocide, but rather a war crime.

In response to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s words following their meeting—calling Zuroff a tireless fighter for truth and justice—Zuroff told TV Prva that he was deeply moved by the compliment.

“I thank God that I had the opportunity to bring war criminals to justice,” he added.

Speaking about the meeting between Vucic and Zuroff, Serbia’s honorary consul in Israel, Aleksandar Nikolic, who appeared in the same broadcast, said the meeting was both emotional and pragmatic, involving discussions on ongoing projects and the phases of their development—especially regarding greater coordination between institutions engaged in academic and educational work.

One such project includes participation in seminars held by international institutions such as Yad Vashem, as well as the completion and expansion of the Staro Sajmiste Memorial Complex.

“President Vucic has great respect for Dr. Zuroff because, from an international standpoint, he is like an outer defensive wall—one that cannot be easily breached. His expertise and global reputation offer Serbia protection from external pressures, and sometimes even from our own internal dynamics,” Nikolic noted.

Zuroff, addressing the greatest challenges in tracking down Nazi war criminals, emphasized the lack of political will in many countries to bring such individuals to justice.

“Without political will, there will never be justice—and we see this time and again. Now, we’re witnessing a trend where many countries are rewriting the Holocaust narrative. They no longer deny that it happened, but they attribute all the crimes solely to the Germans, ignoring the role of their own nationals who were often key perpetrators,” Zuroff warned.

Explaining how the term genocide is currently understood, he stated that nearly every nation that experiences a tragedy seeks to label it as genocide.

“Because genocide is the ‘gold standard’ of tragedy. It attracts sympathy, support, assistance. Let me give you an example—the case of Srebrenica. What is the definition of genocide? I judge it by three ‘I’s: the first is intention, the second is implementation, and the third is implications. In Srebrenica, there were 33,000 people. Around 27,000 of them went home unharmed—elderly people, children, women, all those not involved in the fighting were allowed to leave. Is that genocide? No—it’s a crime, a war crime,” Zuroff concluded.