History of the Jews in Albania
Hebrenjtë Shqiptarë | |
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Total population | |
40–50[citation needed] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Tirana | |
Languages | |
Albanian (presently)
Albanian Jews ) |
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The history of the Jews in Albania dates back about 2,000 years. According to historian Apostol Kotani (Albania and the Jews):[1] "Jews may have first arrived in Albania as early as 70 C.E. as captives on Roman ships that washed up on the country's southern shores... descendants of these captives that would build the first synagogue in the southern port city of Sarandë in the fifth century...[but] Little is known about the Jewish community in the area until the 15th century."[2][3]
In the early 16th century, there were Jewish settlements in most of major cities of Albania such as
During the Italian and German occupations of Albania which coincided with World War II, Albania was the only country in Nazi-occupied Europe which saw an increase in its Jewish population, because Albanian Jews were not turned over to the Germans thanks to an Albanian set of laws which is known as the Besa from the Kanun.[citation needed]
During the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha which was named the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, all religions were banned in the country from February 1967 to 1990, including Judaism, in adherence to the doctrine of state atheism, and all foreign influences were also restricted.[5] In the post-communist era, these policies have been abandoned and freedom of religion is permitted, although the number of practicing Jews in Albania is very small today, with many Jews having made aliyah to Israel.[citation needed]
Ancient period
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First reports of Jews living in Albania date from the 70 CE, with it being thought that Jews first arrived on ships on the shores of southern Albania.
In sixth century Venosa (in Italy) there are references to Jews hailing from Onchesmos, which was also called Anchiasmos.[7][10] The synagogue in Onchesmos was supplanted by a Christian church in the sixth century.[7]
Medieval and Ottoman period
In the 12th century, Benjamin of Tudela visited the area and recorded that there were Jews.[11]
In the thirteenth century, a Jewish community existed in
In 1501 following the establishment of Ottoman rule, the
Jews typically avoided settling in the city of
It is thought that the beginning of the Jewish community in Elbasan was in 1501[15] but when Evliya Çelebi visited the city he reported that there were no Jews, nor any "Franks, Armenians, Serbs or Bulgars"; Edmond Malaj argues that Celebi was simply unaware of the local Jewish neighborhood which existed in the city, which had its own Jewish market.[16]
After the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and the deterioration of security along the Ottoman controlled Adriatic and Ionian coasts, the numbers of Jews within Vlorë decreased.[12] The Berat and Vlorë Jewish communities took an active role in the welfare of other Jews such as managing to attain the release of war related captives present in Durrës in 1596.[12]
In 1673 the charismatic Jewish prophet
The Jewish community of Yanina renewed the Jewish communities of Kavajë, Himarë, Delvinë, Vlorë, Elbasan and Berat in the nineteenth century.[12]
1900–1939
During the Albanian nationalist revolts of 1911, Ottoman officials accused the Jewish community of colluding with and protecting Albanian nationalist rebels.[18]
Vlorë was the site of Albania's only synagogue until it was destroyed in the First World War.
According to the Albanian census of 1930, there were only 204 Jews registered at that time in Albania. The official recognition of the Jewish community was granted on April 2, 1937, while at that time this community consisted in about 300 members. With the rise of Nazi Germany a number of German and Austrian Jews took refuge in Albania. Still in 1938 the Albanian Embassy in Berlin continued to issue visas to Jews, at a time when no other European country was willing to take them.[17] One of the major Albanologists Norbert Jokl asked for Albanian citizenship, which was granted to him immediately; but this could not save him from concentration camps.
World War II
Albania had about 200 Jews at the beginning of the war.
Albania was the only European nation directly affected by the war to have come out of the Second World War with a higher Jewish population at the end of the war than at the start of the war.[24][25]
Communist era
Throughout Albania's era of communist rule under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, the Jewish community was isolated from the Jewish world, but its isolation was not caused by specifically anti-Jewish measures. In order to forge a sustainable form of national unity as well as the new system of socialism, Hoxha banned confessional loyalties across the religious spectrum. In this manner, the fate of the Jewish community was inextricably linked to the fate of Albanian society as a whole.
All religions were strictly banned in the country. After the fall of Communism in 1991, nearly all of the Jews of Albania emigrated. Because they were not victims of anti-Semitism, their primary reasons for leaving Albania were economic. Some 298 Albanian Jews emigrated to Israel (mostly settling in Ashdod and Karmiel) and about 30 others moved to the United States. About a dozen Jews, most of whom were married to non-Jews, chose to remain in Albania.[26]
Jews in present-day Albania
Today, around 40 to 50 Jews are living in Albania, most of them are living in the capital,
In the late 2010s, a Jewish history museum which is named the "Solomon Museum" was established in southern Berat and it contains exhibits about the Holocaust in Albania and the survival of Jews in the country during the war.[13]
In early July 2020, a Holocaust Memorial was unveiled in Tirana and it honors Albanians who safeguarded Jews from Nazi persecution during the Second World War.[32] Among those who were in attendance were prime minister Edi Rama and the US and Israeli ambassadors.[32]
On 22 October 2020, the Albanian parliament adopted the
Partnering with the
Notable Jews of Albanian origin
- Robert Shvarc, translator
- Aleks Buda, historian
Further reading
- Edmond Malaj (2016). Hebrenjtë në trojet shqiptare. Botim II (The Jews in the Albanian Territories. Second Edition. Shkodra: FIORENTIA.
- Duka, Ferit (2002). "Hebrenjtë në Shqipëri. Bashkësitë e Vlorës dhe të Beratit shek. (XVI-XVIII) [The Jews in Albania. The communities of Vlorë and Berat (XVIth - XVIIIth centuries)]". Studime Historike (3–4): 7–28.
See also
References
- ^ Kotani, Apostol (1995). Albania and the Jews. Eureka.
- ^ Jewish Virtual Library. "Albania". Virtual Jewish History Tour: Albania. Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ^ Kotani, Apostol. "From Titus to Hitler: An Overview of the Jewish Community in Albania". www.giovanniarmillotta.it. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
- ISBN 0-930685-03-2
- ^ Elsie (2000):18.
- ^ a b Ariel Scheib. "Albania Virtual Jewish History Tour".
- ^ ISBN 9781107001633.
- ^ Jewish Heritage Europe (25 December 2011). "Albania Jewish History".
- ^ Hebrew University Of Jerusalem. "Excavations carried out this fall at an ancient synagogue in Albania have uncovered additional sections of the impressive structure. The excavations, now in their second season, are being conducted under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Albanian Academy of Sciences".
- ISBN 9783161519017.
- ^ "The Jewish Community of Albania". Beit Hatfutsot Open Databases Project. The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot.
- ^ ISBN 9783631602959.
- ^ a b c Mema, Briseida (30 September 2019). "Albania's endangered Jewish museum reopens". Yahoo news. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ^ Malaj, Edmond. Hebrenjte ne trojet shqiptare. Page 99
- ^ Giakoumis. "Aspects of Symbiosis". Page 71
- ^ Malaj, Edmond. Hebrenjte ne trojet shqiptare. Page 103-104
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85065-570-1page 141
- ^ Marcus. "Albania". Encyclopedia Judaica. Volume 1. Page 584
- ^ "Jewish Population of Europe Before the Holocaust Map". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- ^ Gilbert, Martin (2002). The Routledge Atlas of the Holocaust. London: Routledge. p. 179.
- ^ Ehrlich, M. Avrum (2008). Encyclopedia of the Jewish diaspora: Origins, experiences, and culture. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 944.
- ^ Conclusions of the Estonian International Commission for the Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity Archived 2007-06-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Albanian Muslims Rescued Jews from the Nazis | United with Israel". unitedwithisrael.org.
- ^ Epstein, Scarlett (7 July 2010). "Albania's remarkable philo-Semitism". The Association of Jewish Refugees.
- ISBN 978-1-85065-531-2page 187 Albania is certainly the only state in Europe where the Jewish population actually grew during the Axis occupation; it is estimated that there were 1800 Jews in Albania at the end of war.
- ^ "Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ "Albania Virtual Jewish History Tour". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
- ^ "Hebrew University archaeologists reveal additional sections of ancient synagogue in Albania". EurekAlert!.
- ^ "Remnants Of Ancient Synagogue In Albania Revealed". ScienceDaily.
- ^ "1st chief rabbi inaugurated in Albania". Ynetnews. 17 December 2010.
- ^ "Albanian Jews reject appointment of new chief rabbi". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com.
- ^ a b Semini, Llazar (15 July 2020). "Albania, only country with more Jews after the Holocaust, inaugurates memorial". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ Semini, Llazar (23 October 2020). "Albania joins global efforts to combat anti-Semitism". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
- ^ a b Semini, Llazar (28 October 2020). "Albania hosts online Balkan anti-Semitism forum". Associated Press. Retrieved 29 October 2020.