The Man and the Networks: Rabbi Isaac Alcalay and his Actions during the Wars in Serbia (1912-1918)

It is not an exaggeration to say that the histories of the Balkan nations and the Jews living in these territories were deeply entangled. In Serbian case this claim is not only symbolic: emancipation of Serbian Jewry came at the same time and by the same means as the emancipation of the Serbian state in 1878. Both the Balkan wars and the Great War brought another global context for the two communities and the chance for minority to express loyalty towards the majority through the civic duty of serving army. And the recent works on participation of Jews in the Serbian army in the wars haве proven that the majority of them has responded on the quest of the state. However, where does the civic duty of a religious leader begin and where does it end? In a special role Rabbi Isaac Alcalay was the spokesman for Serbian citizens of all faiths both during and after the wars, asking for the war relief. His position of the active mediator between the two networks – national (Serbian) and international (Jewish) should be looked in greater detail. My idea is to present his actions and agenda in the period during the Balkan wars and WWI in the context of using, presenting and belonging to two networks.