Jelena Đurovic (also transliterated as Djurović; Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Ђуровић; born born 13 July 1973) is a Montenegrin journalist, writer, and political activist. She is based in both Podgorica, Montenegro, and Belgrade, Serbia.[1] Đurović is a founder and former Vice President of the Jewish Community of Montenegro.[2][3] She was closely associated with Jasa Alfandari, the president of the Jewish Community of Montenegro, until his death on 12 July 2018.[4][5]

Jelena Đurović
Born (1973-07-13) 13 July 1973 (age 51)
Occupation(s)journalist, writer, political activist
Jelena Đurović talking about her novel "Kingdom", Belgrade, November 2004.

Đurović currently serves as the Chairwoman of the Organization for Jewish Cooperation in Southeastern Europe (OJC SEE), a non-governmental organization focused on fostering collaboration among Jewish communities in Southeastern Europe. She is also a member of the Board of the Montenegrin National Council in Belgrade, Serbia.[6]

Literary work

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Đurović is a graduate of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, Department of Theater and radio production. Her bachelor thesis, "Theatre in the shadow of the gallows" ("Pozornica u senci vešala") explored the programming policies of Belgrade theaters during the Slobodan Milošević era.

During the 1999 NATO intervention in Yugoslavia, Đurović resided in Budapest, Hungary, where she started work on her novel Kingdom[7] published in November 2003, excerpts from which were published in the book, Voices from the Faultline, A Balkan Anthology.[8]

Her second novel, published in 2011, is titled February 30.[9]

Journalism

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In 1994 and 1995, she worked at one of Belgrade's most popular radio stations, Studio B,[10] as author and editor of the weekly radio show "Time In". This show was sponsored by Soros Fund Yugoslavia. In October 2005, she started one of the first pop-culture/political blogs in Serbia "AgitPop"[11] blog. Its motto is a citation from the letter written by Sigmund Freud to Albert Einstein in Vienna in September 1932: "Meanwhile we may rest on the assurance that whatever makes for cultural development is working also against war...".[12] At the same time Đurović wrote for several Serbian newspapers and magazines[13][14][15] and became a part of the editorial team of the first internet radio station in Serbia, "Novi Radio Beograd".[16][17]

Since March 2012, radio show Agitpop was broadcast on the Serbian national radio station B92, until this radio station became Play Radio.[18]

During COVID-19 pandemic, Đurović and Rabbi Uri Ayalon[19] from Jerusalem started to collaborate on podcast about Jewish topics, "A Rabbi and a Film Critic Walk into a Bar.[20][user-generated source]. The show was first broadcast on Radio Melitz[21]

Personal life

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Đurović was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Montenegrin father and a Jewish mother.[22] Her mother, Svetlana Davidovac, became known as a septuagenarian Instagrammer, and gave advice to her age group on staying safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.[22][23] In January 2009, Đurović married Tomica Orešković.

Selected publications

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  • 30. Februar (2011, Everest Media: ISBN 978-86-7756-012-6)
  • Kingdom (2003)

References

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  1. ^ "Zwischen Belgrad und Podgorica". 20 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Euro-Asian Jewish Congress - New Vice president of the Jewish Community of Montenegro". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Jelena Đurović, nova potpredsjednica JZCG". Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Finding the Jews of Montenegro: One man's mission". Ynetnews. 21 July 2018. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Head of Jewish community in Montenegro, Jasa Alfandari, dies at 72". 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Mirko Zečević predsjednik Crnogorske Nacionalne Zajednice Beograda (in Montenegrin)". Archived from the original on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  7. ^ Kraljevstvo. Aleksandrija press Beograd. January 2003. ISBN 978-86-83275-22-9.
  8. ^ "ZayuPress ... VOICES FROM THE FAULTLINE – A Balkan Anthology". Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  9. ^ ""You cannot be half pregnant. The same goes for being Jewish"". World Jewish Congress. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Studio-b.rs - studio b Resources and Information". Archived from the original on 30 April 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  11. ^ "Agit Pop". Archived from the original on 19 May 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  12. ^ A letter from Freud to Einstein | UNESCO Courier | Find Articles at BNET
  13. ^ Articles written and/or edited by Jelena for CAMP, FAAR and Glas magazines: http://agitpopmagazine.blogspot.com/ Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "www.glas-javnosti.co.yu". Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  15. ^ "Faar magazin / Faar magazine". Archived from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  16. ^ noviradiobeograd.com Archived 23 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Blic Online | Novi Radio Beograd na internetu Archived 10 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Agitpop on the B92 radio
  19. ^ https://www.npr.org/2015/10/14/448697071/no-one-wants-this-level-of-violence-in-jerusalem-rabbi-says [bare URL]
  20. ^ "Mixcloud".
  21. ^ https://melitz.org/melitz-radio-in-the-making/ [bare URL]
  22. ^ a b Djurovic, Jelena (4 August 2020). "How my mom became an Insta star without even trying". Times of Israel blog. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  23. ^ Stojanov, Ivana (13 March 2020). "Saveti o koronavirusu za starije - od penzionerke iz Beograda" [Advice on the coronavirus for the elderly - from a pensioner in Belgrade]. Nova.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 23 December 2023.
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