Tunisian Envoy to Address Holocaust Conference

Gil Ronen

For the first time in history, a representative of an Arab country will address an international conference on the Holocaust in Jerusalem.

On April 28, Ahmed el-Abassi, Tunisia’s representative to the "Palestinian Authority," will speak at the opening of a three-day conference at Jerusalem's Yad Ben Zvi Institute that will focus on the fate of the Jews of North Africa during WWII. Israel and Tunisia do not have diplomatic relations.

'Solidarity with the subject'
"For the first time, an official Arab-Muslim representative is being recruited to spread awareness of the issue in the Arab world of the Middle East," a spokesman for Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, said. "His presence expresses solidarity with the subject and recognition of the trouble and hardships of the Tunisian Jewish community under the German occupation,” the spokesman added.
Some 85,000 Jews lived in Tunisia on the eve of the war. 2,000 remain today.


21 researchers from Israel, Europe and the United States will take part in the conference.

Some 85,000 Jews lived in Tunisia on the eve of the war. After France surrendered to the Nazis, the province was run by the Vichy regime, which implemented only some of the so-called Statut des Juifs (Jewish laws). The Germans took over the country with Italian troops in November 1942, and were much harsher. The Jews were saved from annihilation when the Allies entered the capital, Tunis, on May 7, 1943 and quickly vanquished the Germans.

Today only 2,000 Jews live in Tunisia, mainly in Djerba and in Tunis.

Congress recognizes Jewish refugees
The United States Congress voted Tuesday to recognize Jewish refugees who were forced to flee their homes in Arab countries following the establishment of the state of Israel. Congressmen called on US diplomats to mention Jewish refugees from Arab lands whenever they reference Arabs who fled Israel during the War of Independence.

Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) explained that he supported the resolution because Jews forced to flee their homes “must not be omitted from public discussion on the peace process.” Representative Mike Ferguson (R-NJ), who co-sponsored the bill, said one of his goals was to pressure the United Nations to recognize Jewish refugees.

Tunisian 'Righteous Gentile' honored
Las year, a Tunisian became the first Arab to be honored as a "Righteous among the Nations", a title given to non-Jews who saved the lives of Jews from the Nazi extermination.

According to the testimony of Anny Boukris, who lived in Tunisia during World War 2 and settled in Los Angeles after the war, Khaled Abdel al-Wahab, a well-to-do farmer at the time, rescued her and 24 of her relatives from their hiding place and hid them on his farm until the German occupation of Tunisia ended.

Earlier this year, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum launched its Arabic-language website in a bid to promote awareness in the Arab world of the extermination of Jews by the Nazis and to combat Holocaust denial. Jordan’s Prince Hassan recorded a video address for the inauguration of the website..