 By the autumn of 1990 , after the first democratic elections in Croatia , the municipal government finally approved the project . An architectural competition was planned for January 1991 . Political turmoil in the country , followed by the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Croatian War of Independence ( 1991 – 1995 ) , caused the project to be put on hold again . In 1994 President of Croatia Franjo Tuđman said to <unk> <unk> , Council member of the Zagreb Jewish community , that they should build the new synagogue at the site of the former synagogue , which will be funded by the Croatian government . <unk> declined the offer believing to be inappropriate when 1800 Catholic churches are left destroyed at the time , during Croatian War of Independence . 
