Jimmy Carter

April 28, 2006
Regarding BESA: Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II

At a time when conflict between Muslims and Jews attracts the attention of the media, it is heartening to be reminded that mutual aid and friendship also have characterized the relationship. The story told through the photographs of Norman H. Gershman is especially inspiring, because the Muslims who saved Jews in World War II did so at enormous risk to their own lives. Living in Greater Albania after the Nazi takeover in September 1943, they gave asylum to Jews threatened by the Holocaust. Because Albania was cut off from the West after the war, this story is only now being revealed. I hope that these photos and their stories become widely known. They offer hope for a future in which Muslims and Jews can overcome their conflicts and focus on their common humanity.

Jimmy Carter
Former President of The United States