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Opera Orientalis, otherwise referred to as Operation Opera, was an intelligence operation carried out during the Yugoslav wars.
In August, 1991, the Jewish cemetery and Jewish Community Center in Zagreb, Croatia were bombed. The individuals responsible for the bombing were later found to be members of the Serb-controlled Yugoslav Air Force intelligence service. Operation Opera was an attempt to turn the opinions of the western powers against Croatia, and ostensibly to detract from the validity of Croatia's demands for independence. This action was coordinated with flood of false accusations launched from pro-Serb worldwide lobbies and media, in which independent Croatia was connected with WWII, nazism and antijudaism.
Within several days of the bombing, however, tens of thousands of people, among them government and religious officials, poured into the streets of Zagreb to express their support for the Jewish community. Damages from the bombing were quickly repaired with the help of the Croatian government.
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