President Herzog – Visit the Museum which recalls the Albanian Jewish Rescue | Binyamin Katzman

Dear President Herzog,

In the coming days, you will have the great honor to visit the beautiful Balkan country of Albania. This mountainous country which boasts both Adriatic and Ionian coastline is the only country in Europe in which the Jewish population during the Shoah actually increased.

Albanians have a unique national moral code known as “Besa”. Although there are different definitions, it is generally known as a “code of honor”.

According to Yad Vashem:

“The remarkable assistance afforded to the Jews was grounded in Besa….The Albanians went out of their way to provide assistance; moreover, they competed with each other for the privilege of saving Jews. These acts originated from compassion, loving-kindness and a desire to help those in need, even those of another faith or origin. Albania, the only European country with a Muslim majority, succeeded in the place where other European nations failed. Almost all Jews living within Albanian borders during the German occupation, those of Albanian origin and refugees alike, were saved, except members of a single family. Impressively, there were more Jews in Albania at the end of the war than beforehand.”

Honorable President Herzog, while I am sure you have a tight schedule packed full of meetings with government officials, and members of the tiny Jewish community in Albania’s capital Tirana, there are two items that should definitely be juggled into your schedule.

It would be a great honor both to Albanians and the Jewish people, for the President of Israel to meet with descendants of a family who hid Jews during the Shoah. I have seen this done by reporters including those of TOI. I have also seen this done by Jewish and Israeli content creators on Youtube. I’m sure your team can find one of these special people.

An absolute treasure is a tiny museum that tells the story of Jews in Albania during the Shoah, and how many Albanians risked their lives to save Jews. This museum brings the above information from Yad Vashem (and lots more) into actual stories with pictures of people and families from different regions of Albania who actually made this happen. The museum is in the center of the picturesque town of Berat, less than 2 hours from Albania’s capital.

A feature on Shabtai Tzvi, says ““Where a Jew is buried, the land becomes sacred,” according to “https://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/muzeo-solomoni-berat-documenting-jewish-albanian-history/” the implication is that Prof. Vrusho held out on the belief that Shabtai Tzvi was buried in Berat. (All rights reserved by the author – Aug 2024)

Berat has a charming yet compact old town and is known as “The City of a Thousand Windows”. The city once hosted Shabtai Tzvi after he was expelled from Izmir by the Ottomans (Shabtai Tzvi 1626-1676 was once widely thought by many Jews to have been the Messiah). A few hundred meters away the Tekke building of the local mosque once attracted many Israeli tourists. Until relatively recently it was thought to have been the final burial place of Shabtai Tzvi. During the Shoah, Jews were granted permission to hold prayer services in this mosque.

Entrance to the Tekke – cultural and social hall of the Islamic community in Berat. Both the Mosque and the Tekke have Jewish stars at the entrance. An elderly mosque caretaker said the Jewish stars were there to “show respect” to the Jewish community. Other explanations include the once long held belief that Shabtai Tzvi was buried here. (All rights reserved by the author – Aug 2024)

The Solomoni Jewish Museum was originally founded by Professor Simon Vrusho, who founded it from his own pension and donations (according to Wikipedia). It is a free museum though donations are welcome and important, as it is in danger of closing. This past summer, we visited the museum. The first thing we noticed when arriving were large Albanian and Israeli flags in the center of the one room museum. On the day I arrived with my daughter, an older woman who now runs the museum was there with a friendly young man who spoke English well. It ends up the woman is Angjlina Vrusho, the wife of the late Prof. Vrusho. Clearly she was proud to continue the project, and I sensed she was most proud when she shared that her family was one of the local families that also hid and protected Jews. She also pointed out a picture of the local “Jewish Street” which is right in the center of town near the church and the Lead Mosque.

Before visiting both Muslim majority Albania and Kosovo in this time period during the Iron Shields war in Gaza, we feared seeing numerous “Free Palestine” stickers, (or possibly worse) as indeed happened (to some extent) in another country. Not only was this not the case, we felt very welcome both in Albania and in (ethically Albanian) Kosovo where even the border control officer was very friendly and welcoming after seeing my Israeli passport (when does that ever happen?). It should be noted that in 2021, Kosovo became one of only a few countries in the world, and certainly the only Muslim majority nation to open up an embassy in Jerusalem, after Israel recognized Kosovo. (To be fair neither Kosovo nor Albania identify as religious, and choosing to identify them as a Muslim country may be met with an unfriendly, or more likely a friendly but corrective response).

The only negative of this trip to multiple countries, was that I did not have enough time in Albania. Upon researching this article I came across some articles including one in TOI saying that Albania will be opening two new Jewish Museums in 2024. One in Tirana and the other in Vlore. If you’re looking for an excuse to visit this lesser known, but also less crowded destination, you got it! I would love the chance to spend more time exploring the countries relatively unexplored nature in the north and popular beaches in the south near the border with Greece. All at a fraction of the price of Western European countries.

Our people owe a great deal of hakarat hatov (appreciation) to the Albanian people for what they did for us in the dark days of the Shoah. President Herzog, I hope you will find the time to visit this small but incredibly special Jewish museum in Berat, and meet with descendants of a family who helped save Jews. I hope more of us Israelis and Jews the world over will do the same.

Embed from Getty Images

[Tourists visiting the Solomon Museum, featuring Israeli and Albanian flags with a plaque honoring founder Professor Simon Vrusho in the center. (Getty Images)]