How Republika Srpska Uses Israel-Linked Lobbying Networks in Washington

On June 23, Željka Cvijanović, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency, visited Israel, where she met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and attended an international political summit.

The visit was more than a ceremonial engagement. Official images from the meetings showed Cvijanović standing in front of the Republika Srpska flag, while the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country she officially represents as a member of its tripartite presidency, was not visible.

The absence of the Bosnian flag prompted the Foreign Ministry in Sarajevo to send a protest note to Israel, saying the images gave an entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina the appearance of official representation, which it argued undermined the country’s sovereignty and internationally recognized symbols.

Against this backdrop, Misbar’s team at Alaraby TV reviewed documents filed under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) with the U.S. Department of Justice. The team examined Republika Srpska’s contracts in Washington, identified the companies and individuals hired to represent it, and analyzed the objectives outlined in the filings, including lifting sanctions, revisiting the Dayton Agreement, reducing the role of the Office of the High Representative, advocating for the withdrawal of European Union Force (EUFOR) troops from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and expanding English-language media outreach.

Republika Srpska’s Efforts to Reshape the Dayton Agreement Framework

The background to the scene lies in the post-war political structure established in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the 1992-1995 conflict. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence after a referendum largely supported by Bosniaks and Croats, while Bosnian Serb leaders boycotted the vote and rejected its outcome.

The declaration was followed by a war in which Bosnian Serb forces, backed by Belgrade, committed widespread crimes against civilians, including ethnic cleansing campaigns and genocide, most notably the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

The Dayton Peace Agreement ended the war that same year and established a complex political system that divided Bosnia and Herzegovina into two largely autonomous entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, alongside the separately administered Brčko District.

Since then, Republika Srpska’s leadership, particularly Milorad Dodik and his allies, has treated the entity as a political base with potential for expansion rather than simply as one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s internal entities. This approach has included obstructing state institutions in Sarajevo, challenging the authority of the Office of the High Representative, and repeatedly raising the possibility of secession.

Against this backdrop, Cvijanović’s visit to Israel takes on particular significance, highlighting a broader effort by Republika Srpska’s leadership to leverage political ties and lobbying networks connected to Israel and the U.S. right wing in Washington.

Political lobbying documents show that the network’s objectives extend beyond improving Republika Srpska’s image. They include lifting sanctions imposed on senior officials, revisiting elements of the Dayton Agreement, reducing the role of the High Representative, and advancing the leadership’s vision of gradually consolidating greater political independence for the entity.

Republika Srpska’s Lobbying Network in Washington

U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings submitted to the Department of Justice reveal a lobbying campaign operating on behalf of Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s two entities, aimed at shaping Washington’s approach toward the entity’s leadership and its role within the political framework established by the Dayton Agreement.

According to FARA filings, the campaign began in January 2025, when Zell & Associates International Advocates LLC registered an agreement to represent Republika Srpska in the United States.

The firm is led by Israeli-American attorney L. Mark Zell, in partnership with BSI Public Affairs and BSI International Consulting.

In March 2026, an updated version of the agreement was filed with the FARA Unit, listing Republika Srpska as the registered foreign principal and Zell’s firm as the registered agent and legal representative of the campaign in Washington.

The documents identify Zell as the signatory of the representation agreements and the primary liaison with the U.S. Department of Justice. The agreement outlines a broad scope of work, including legal services, government relations, strategic communications, media relations, and public diplomacy efforts in the United States.

The firm’s role therefore extends beyond arranging meetings or facilitating communication channels. The documents outline an influence strategy targeting U.S. policymakers, political circles, and the broader American public.

Republika Srpska Lobbying Campaign Targets Sanctions Relief and Rare Minerals

According to the representation agreement registered with the U.S. Department of Justice, the campaign sought to open a dialogue with the second Trump administration and elevate relations with the United States into a broader political and economic partnership. The document presents cooperation on the exploration and development of rare earth minerals in Republika Srpska as an economic avenue for strengthening ties.

However, this economic approach is also linked to a political objective. The document connects engagement with Washington to a shift in U.S. policy toward Republika Srpska and its leadership, including lifting sanctions imposed on Milorad Dodik, members of his family, companies and officials associated with the entity, as well as Željka Cvijanović, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency.

On October 29, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated its sanctions list, removing Milorad Dodik, several of his allies, family members and affiliated companies from the list, coinciding with the lobbying campaign registered in Washington.

The United States had previously imposed sanctions on Dodik and his network, beginning with his designation in 2017 over actions related to obstructing the Dayton Agreement. He was designated again in 2022 for undermining Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state institutions and engaging in corruption. The sanctions were later expanded to include members of his family, companies, and financial and political facilitators. Reuters reported that Washington did not provide a detailed public explanation for the decision.

FARA documents show that lifting sanctions was an explicit objective of the campaign, and that the U.S. decision came during the same period that Republika Srpska expanded its lobbying activities in Washington. However, the overlap in timing and stated objectives does not establish a causal relationship between the two.

The campaign’s objectives extend beyond sanctions. The document calls for renewed U.S. discussions on the Dayton Agreement, three decades after it was implemented, with particular focus on Annex 10, which established the Office of the High Representative.

It also calls for removing the “Bonn powers,” setting a timeline for closing the Office of the High Representative, and advocating for the gradual and orderly withdrawal of the European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR). The Republika Srpska document describes EUFOR as a factor that perpetuates European involvement and the Office of the High Representative’s intervention in the entity’s affairs.

An updated version of the agreement filed in March 2026 shows an expansion of the campaign’s media component. The company was tasked with strengthening Republika Srpska’s English-language presence, particularly on X, developing coordinated messaging, highlighting meetings between its leaders and international figures, increasing outreach to diaspora communities, and collaborating with social media influencers. The stated aim of these activities is to expand Republika Srpska’s narrative among U.S. audiences.

Financially, the 2026 version of Zell & Associates International Advocates LLC’s contract, registered under FARA as No. 7517, shows that certain fees and expense details were redacted in the version published by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The redactions cover the base fee, authorized expenses and an option for media and communications costs. The publicly available documents do not indicate the reason for the redactions or the party that requested them.

Meanwhile, other filings linked to the campaign reveal payments to subcontractors and advisers working within Zell’s network. In the Becker & Poliakoff filing, registered under FARA as No. 7089, the firm is listed as representing Republika Srpska. The filing also includes a separate agreement under which Zell & Associates hired Becker & Poliakoff to provide federal consulting services related to Republika Srpska’s representation, for $40,000 per month.

Expansion of Republika Srpska’s Lobbying Network in Washington

The lobbying activity extended beyond Zell’s firm. On October 3, a contract was registered with the U.S. Department of Justice between Dickens & Madson Canada, a firm headed by Israeli-Canadian businessman Ari Ben-Menashe, and Mladen Filipović, director of the Republika Srpska Representation Office in Vienna.

The agreement outlines the scope of services, including lobbying the U.S. administration and the Treasury Department to remove Bosnian Serb officials from sanctions lists, engaging with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union, the United Nations and other governments, promoting Milorad Dodik, advocating for Republika Srpska’s independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and ending the role of the Office of the High Representative.

The filings indicate that Republika Srpska paid the firm approximately $4 million for these services.

The lobbying network extended beyond these two firms. In February 2026, Republika Srpska signed a $30,000-per-month contract with former U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Moore. In April 2026, Donald Trump Jr. visited Banja Luka, a move that reflected growing outreach to figures associated with the U.S. right wing.

The documents are consistent with findings from an investigation published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which reported that Republika Srpska spent at least $8.9 million on 11 lobbying and public relations firms in Washington in 2025 and 2026. According to OCCRP, the spending was aimed at improving the entity’s image, building international support for its push for independence, and challenging institutions established under the Dayton Agreement.

Schmidt’s Resignation and Republika Srpska’s Lobbying Campaign Objectives

According to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), part of the lobbying campaign focused on German diplomat Christian Schmidt, the international high representative overseeing the implementation of the Dayton Agreement.

Schmidt had used his powers to annul separatist laws deemed unconstitutional, while Milorad Dodik publicly described him as an “illegitimate tourist.”

In May 2026, Schmidt announced his resignation before the United Nations Security Council, describing it as a “personal decision.” Documented events show that a lobbying campaign targeting Schmidt was identified in the OCCRP investigation, while Schmidt attributed his resignation to personal reasons.

The available evidence indicates that two stated objectives outlined in the campaign documents saw developments during the same period: the lifting of sanctions on Milorad Dodik and Schmidt’s announcement of his resignation. However, these developments alone do not establish a causal link between the campaign and these outcomes.

Key Figures Behind Republika Srpska’s Lobbying Network

Two individuals sit at the center of the lobbying network, playing key roles in the contracts and agreements reviewed in the documents. Their professional and political backgrounds provide context for their roles in the campaign.

L. Marc Zell is an Israeli-American attorney who heads the Israeli branch of Republicans Overseas and is active within Republican Party circles.

In 2003, he co-founded the Iraqi International Law Group with Salem Chalabi. He also previously established a law and lobbying firm with former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Douglas Feith.

Zell is known for his support of President Donald Trump. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he said Jewish religious texts had predicted Trump’s victory and later rejected the outcome of the 2020 election.

In an opinion article co-authored for JNS, Zell described the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a confrontation between institutions led by Bosniaks and Republika Srpska. He criticized the Office of the High Representative and called on Congress to boycott events he claimed promoted Iranian influence in Bosnia.

Ari Ben-Menashe is an Israeli-Canadian businessman who was born in Iran to Iraqi Jewish parents and previously worked in Israeli military intelligence.

He became linked to the Iran-Contra affair after disclosing information in 1986 about U.S. arms shipments to Iran during its war with Iraq. The information was published by the Lebanese magazine Al-Shiraa before the scandal became public.

In 1989, he was arrested in the United States on charges of attempting to sell military transport aircraft to Iran. A jury later acquitted him after accepting his argument that he had been acting on behalf of Israel.

Company records show that his firm has provided lobbying and representation services to several controversial clients in recent years. In 2019, the firm contracted with Sudanese Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti,” and later with Myanmar’s military authorities following the 2021 coup. The firm also sought to play a role in arrangements related to governance in Gaza. Republika Srpska is among the entities that contracted with the company during a period when its leadership was facing U.S. sanctions.

Three decades after the signing of the Dayton Agreement, Republika Srpska continues a documented lobbying campaign in Washington. Its stated objectives include closing the Office of the High Representative, withdrawing the European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), and reopening discussions on the Dayton Agreement. During the same period, sanctions against Milorad Dodik were lifted, and Christian Schmidt announced his resignation. However, the documents reviewed do not establish a causal link between these developments and the campaign.

The documents show that the campaign extended beyond efforts to improve Republika Srpska’s image, also seeking to influence political issues related to its position within Bosnia and Herzegovina and the future of the Dayton Agreement.

Read More

How Did an Israeli Lobby Shape the Editorial Policy for Western Media?

Satellite Images Reveal U.S. Buildup of Aerial Refueling Aircraft at Ramon Airport

Israeli Digital Campaign Targeted Qatar Over U.S.-Iran Mediation Efforts