Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust’s Long Reach into Arab Lands

By Robert Satloff (New York: PublicAffairs, 2006)
and
NPR Morning Edition, A ‘Righteous’ Honor for an Arab Who Saved Jews
by Renee Montagne (April 19, 2007)

Introduction

Present-day news accounts of the strife between Israel and its Arab neighbors would lead us to believe that only animosity exists betweens Jews and Muslims and that this animosity has always existed. But such is not the case. During World War 2, many Muslims took great personal risks to help their Jewish neighbors and friends.

Summary

Several more examples from the book are given in the discusssion points below, but Chapter 6 is dedicated to the story of one Jewish family saved by their Muslim friend. A Tunisian Arab, Khaleb Abdulwahab, heard German soldiers describe a beautiful Jewish woman and plan to abduct her and “have his way with her”. Mr. Abdulwahab recognized the description of the woman as the beautiful wife of his Jewish friend. That night, he warned the Jewish family and spent the night shuttling the entire family, the extended family of aunts and uncles, and two Jewish neighbor families to a safe location in the country. The safe location was his farm. These thirty individuals remained in hiding at the farm for the duration of the conflict, which continued for several months. The daughter of the Jewish parents, Nadia Bijawi, remembered the time on the farm as one of feeling safe and being well fed.

Across the road from the farm was a German Red Cross station where wounded German soldiers were cared for. The German medics knew of the Jews hiding at the farm, but said nothing to the German authorities, instead, they occasionally brought food and medical supplies to help them.

The daughter of Mr. Abdulwahab did not know of this act of kindness and tolerance. She learned of it when the author arrived to verify the story as told by Nadia Bijawi. Israel’s Holocaust Museum nominated Mr. Abdulwahab as the first Arab to receive the honor Righteous Among the Nations for taking actions that saved Jewish lives. Mr. Abdulwahab’s daugher, Faiza Abdulwahab, and Nadia Bijawi, first met in April 2007. Despite the political tensions between Israelis and Arabs, these two women said they immediately felt like sisters, like family.

Questions and Discussion

Why did these women, who did not know the other, immediately feel like sisters?

Prior to World War 2, Arabs and Jews co-existed peacefully in many Arab states. During WWII, many Arab leaders protected their Jewish subjects:

In Algeria, Shaykh Taieb il-Okbi cultivated close ties with the Jewish community. When he heard rumors that leaders of a French pro-fascist group were prodding Muslims to launch a pogrom against the Jews of Algiers, el-Okbi did all he could to prevent it, including issuing a formal prohibition on Muslims from attacking Jews.

Sultan Muhammad V of Morocco (under Vichy rule) declared on the annual Throne Day with Vichy officials in attendance as well as Moroccan elite and leaders of the Jewish community, “just as in the past, the Israelites will remain under my protection. I refuse to make any distinction between my subjects.”

Tunisian Moncef Bey and his political appointees and members of the royal court warned Jewish leaders of German plans, helped Jews avoid arrest orders, prevented deportations, hid Jews, gave special dispensations to young Jewish men so they could avoid forced labor camps, and hid Jews who had escaped from forced labor camps. The Bey reportedly gathered senior officials at the palace and warned: “The Jews are having a hard time but they are under our patronage and we are responsible for their lives. If I find out that an Arab informer caused even one hair of a Jew to fall, this Arab will pay with his life.”

The two religions, Islam and Judaism, have not changed. So what has caused the change in attitude and affection between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East?

How has the label “religious conflict” been used to incorrectly oversimplify and label complex social, political, philosophical differences?

Can you think of other instances where a complex conflict has been blamed on religious differences but where religion was actually just one minor player in the conflict, if a player at all?