Home today to no more than a few hundred Jews, Albania has the notable distinction of having seen its Jewish population increase during World War II despite the fact that it was occupied by Italy in 1939. Liam Hoare examines Albanians’ recent interest in their country’s history of harboring and protecting Jewish refugees and the role played by the national code of honor, called besa—although Hoare believes there was more to it than that:

To look only at besa . . . ignores the other forces at work in Albania. There were those in the government who refused to turn over lists of Jews residing within the country’s borders and provided many Jewish families with fake documentation, [not just ordinary citizens who chose to hide Jews]. The role of the resistance cannot be discounted, either, for its two factions—one Communist, one nationalist—agreed [upon] a kind of neutrality on the issue of Albanian Jews. Other factors include the size of the Jewish population in Albania . . . and that as a Muslim-majority country, [it had] avoided the centuries of Christian anti-Semitism that provided much of the background for the midnight of the 20th century.

The recent rediscovery of the Albanian Holocaust experience quite obviously serves something of a political purpose, as [can be seen] when the Albanian foreign minister [told] participants at a breakfast meeting hosted by the World Jewish Congress and the Israel Council on Foreign on Relations the story of besa. . . . Still, the fact that Albania is producing fresh historical studies [of its Jews] and other cultural products like documentaries about the Holocaust also shows that, even in the absence of Jewish life, the historical relationship between Albanians and Jews has [significant] resonance.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.