Albania has joined the international Chabad-Lubavitch network and will, for the first time, have a permanent center run by the Jewish organization, which supports Jewish communities and their religious life around the world. The announcement was made during the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. Rabbi Yossi Fridman, his wife, Etka Fridman, and their son, Meir, are involved in establishing the center.
The Fridman family will serve the Jewish community living in Albania, as well as the growing number of Jewish tourists and visitors. The growth in tourism and the increase in Israeli visitors have created a need for kosher food, a synagogue and traditional Shabbat meals. The center aims to be a meeting place for Jewish residents and a welcoming space where tourists can observe their religious traditions and practices during their stay in the country.
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According to Chabad’s announcement, the history of the Jewish presence in Albania stretches back around 2,000 years. Evidence includes the ruins of an ancient synagogue discovered in Sarandë about two decades ago. Albanians’ actions during the Holocaust also hold a special place in Jewish historical memory. They are associated with besa, the tradition under which a host must protect a guest and ensure their safety.
During World War II, many Albanian families sheltered and hid Jews from Nazi persecution, even at the risk of their own lives. Albania was the only European country whose Jewish population was larger at the end of the war than before it. Later, the communist regime isolated the Jewish community: religion was banned, and contact with Jewish communities abroad was cut off. Despite this, a small community survived and preserved its identity.
Rabbi Yossi Fridman said that Albanian besa means keeping a promise to a guest, whatever the cost, and that Albanians upheld that promise to the Jewish people during the Holocaust. He said the goal is to create a home where every Jew is welcomed as a member of the family, just as Albania welcomed the Jewish people when it mattered most. The center’s opening marks a new chapter in the historic relationship between Albanians and the Jewish people: almost a century after Albanian families opened their homes to persecuted Jews in Europe, a Jewish center will open its doors in Albania, grounded in Albanian hospitality and besa.
However, the development has also prompted considerable opposition from citizens. Numerous posts on social media have opposed the opening of a permanent center for the Jewish organization in Albania. /albeu.com/
