Jakov Bienenfeld, Croatian executive, Died at 67

  Business

Jakov Bienenfeld was born on July 28, 1948, in Zagreb and died on February 8, 2016.

He was a Croatian entrepreneur and developer.

A majority of his family perished during the Holocaust, they were Jewish.

Jakov 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.

Jakov Bienenfeld brought an exclusive German fashion brand Escada to Croatia, in the 1990s.

Jakov Bienenfeld was also a council member of the Zagreb Jewish community.

Following the Croatian War of Independence, in 1991, he co-organized the aid convoy on the ferryboat “Ilirija” to bring the humanitarian aid to bounded Dubrovnik.

Along with assistance and cooperation from Slobodan Praljak, Bienenfeld also co-organized rescue of more than 1,200 Jews from Sarajevo during Bosnian War.

Jakov Bienenfeld testified in Praljak’s favor during his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Following 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.

Bienenfeld believes that Croats, as a nation, are not Antisemits.

Jakov Bienenfeld passed away at 67 yrs old.