At a meeting with the World Jewish Congress-Israel and the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR) in Jerusalem, Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati spoke of his country’s friendship for Israel and also its wartime history as a sanctuary for Jews fleeing the Holocaust.
Bushati, 37, one of Europe’s youngest foreign ministers, called his country “a place situated in a dynamic region where peace and stability are not always easy to achieve.”
“Albanians and Israelis share common values,” he said. “But the single most important historical event, albeit a tragic one, that led the paths of our people to cross is undoubtedly the Holocaust. In those dark years of the Second World War, we saw a group of people who suffered collective death and were denied the very right to exist.”
Relating to the fact that Albania granted sanctuary to more than 1,500 Jews during the Shoah and emerged from the war with eight times more Jews than when it began, Bushati said “Albanians offered shelter and protection. The house of an Albanian is the house of God and of the guest. Jews found an open door, warm hearts and secure shelter in Albania.”
Speaking of his country’s desire for access to Israeli technology and capital, he said, “Albania has a lot to learn from Israel. Partnership with democratic countries is one of the guiding principles of our foreign policy and Israel is an accomplished democracy in the Middle East. Its main exports are science, culture, and knowledge. The full potential of trade relations between our two countries has not yet been reached.”
