In early 2008, Israel's position in the international community was a complicated one. After the Second Intifada and the Second Lebanon War, Arab propaganda had created a serious PR problem for Israel, especially in Europe. So the time I spent in Kosovo back them was a corrective experience: the Albanian majority and the Serb minority in the newly-established state were vying to demonstrate the depth of their deep and historic friendships with Israel and the Jewish people.
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The leadership of the new country – the youngest in the world – courted Israel energetically, although Israel took its time responding, mainly because of concerns that Kosovo would be a precedent in international law that could also serve the Arabs of Israel. Kosovo was part of Serbia, and was considered holy ground for Serbians. The Albanian demographic expansion turned them into a majority in that region.
Attempts by Serbian dictator Slobodan Milošević to carry out ethnic cleansing against the Albanian population in the 1990s failed thanks to US-led international intervention.
The US was the one that supported Albanian independence from Serbia. This is how Kosovo became a sovereign state that was fighting for its status. But 13 years after it was established, Israel no longer had a reason not to recognize it. Even if Kosovo is suffering from serious growing pains, the Kosovo Albanians – unlike the Palestinians – were able to seize the opportunity and build a state.
It is greatly symbolic for Europe and the Muslim world that a moderate Muslim-majority country is launching diplomatic ties with Israel and opening an embassy in Jerusalem.
In the last 20 years, Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have been working to draw the population of Kosovo toward a more radical form of Islam. The country's economic situation, which worsened due to the COVID pandemic, prompted more people to turn to religion. Hundreds of Kosovars joined the Islamic State. The country's political leadership is aware of the growing religious extremism and is taking steps to counter it.
Kosovo's recognition of Israeli and the opening of its embassy in Jerusalem send a message of moderation and determination to the radical elements in the Muslim world. Along with the Abraham Accords, the establishment of relations between Israel and Kosovo should be seen as bringing Israel one step closer to moderate and secular Muslim entities, especially given how the west, especially the American administration, is embracing the extremists.
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