Thousands took to the streets in Kosovo this week to celebrate the first year anniversary of the tiny Balkan country's declaration of independence.
In spite of the furtive steps taken by the Balkan state to forge ahead toward prosperity and universally-recognized independence, it is still still awaiting Israeli support for its statehood.
Israel has so far side-stepped the issue of Kosovo independence. On the one hand, Jerusalem is hesitant to endorse the independence of a break-away Muslim country, in light of the implications it could have for Israel with regard to the Palestinians.
Israel may also view recognition of the breakaway republic as one that could potentially lead to a domino effect which could encourage other contested areas to declare independence, and possibly raise international calls for Palestinian statehood.
During the NATO bombing campaign against Serbia in 1999, many Israelis sympathized with Kosovar Albanians subject to a campaign of displacement widely identified as a campaign of ethnic cleansing by the remnants of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian paramilitary forces.
On another level, for Israel and many other countries, the issue of Kosovo independence and support of the 1999 NATO campaign have served as a point of contention, much like last summer's war between Georgia and Russia, which pitted the West - specifically NATO - against a resurgent Russia.
The independence day celebrations in Kosovo this week took place in the shadow of the stark segregation and ethnic violence that continues to reign between the country's Albanian majority and its 10 percent Serbian minority.
The tentative sovereignty of the national government in Pristina is still weighed by the hardships faced as Europe's poorest country, dealing with the global financial crisis.
Over the last year, Kosovo has ratified a constitution, issued its own passports, and commissioned armed forces and an intelligence service.
Nonetheless, the unemployment rate stands at 45 percent and nearly half of the population lives below the poverty line. In addition, the country is a hotbed of corruption and organized crime, and is one of the centers of drug, weapons, and human trafficking in Europe.
As of today, 54 states have declared their support for Kosovo independence, including the majority of the countries in the European Union. Opposition has been strident from Russia, which sees the Serbians as Slavic, Orthodox Christian cousins beset upon by the west, particular NATO.
In Serbia itself, Kosovo is seen by many as an inseparable part of the Serbian homeland ever since the Kingdom of Serbia was defeated by Turkish forces at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.
The area has served as a Serbian crowd symbol since, in what many authors have compared to the way that Jerusalem and the ancient Hebrew communities of the West Bank did for the Jewish Diaspora after the destruction of the second temple and until the founding of the State of Israel.
