Jakov Bienenfeld
| Jakov Bienenfeld | |
|---|---|
| Born |
28 July 1948 Zagreb, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia |
| Died | 8 February 2016 (aged 67) Zagreb, Croatia |
| Nationality | Croat |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Jakov Bienenfeld (28 July 1948 – 8 February 2016) was a Croatian entrepreneur and developer.
Bienenfeld was born in Zagreb on 28 July 1948 to a Jewish family. Most of his family perished during the Holocaust.
His father, Zlatko Bienenfeld, was Major general of the Croatian Army and personal adviser to late Croatian defence minister Gojko Šušak.
He was a prominent entrepreneur who owned several successful businesses, including a travel agency and a developing company. In the 1990s Bienenfeld brought an exclusive German fashion brand Escada to Croatia. Bienenfeld was also a council member of the Zagreb Jewish community.
During the Croatian War of Independence, in 1991, he co-organized aid convoy on ferryboat "Ilirija" to bring the humanitarian aid to bounded Dubrovnik. With the help and cooperation from Slobodan Praljak, Bienenfeld also co-organized rescue of more than 1,200 Jews from Sarajevo during Bosnian War. He testified in Praljak's favor during his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
During the last visit of President of Croatia Ivo Josipović to Israel, when on February 2012 he addressed the Knesset apologising for the crimes committed against the Jews on Croatia's soil during World War II, Bienenfeld stated; "I think it is harmful to think that Croats need to redeem themselves for anything. Let's simplify the story, in the history one part of the Croats harmed my people and that is it. Done. Amen. Croats have nothing to redeem themselves for." Bienenfeld believed that Croats, as a nation, are not Antisemits. He stated that he does not have antisemitic experiences in Croatia and that he is proud of the treatment Jews have in Croatia.
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