Albania and Israel have always had a special historical connection. The Jews in Israel will forever remember Albania as the only country that was under the rule of the Axis countries, where the number of Jews increased from the number before the Holocaust.

Today, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is being celebrated around the world. This year the remembrance of Holocaust Day is particularly significant for the Jews in Israel. The terrorist attack carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza on October 7, left behind massacres and murders of 1,145 Israeli and foreign citizens, including women, children, and the elderly, which also included many atrocities that were filmed by the terrorists, including – amputation of limbs, rape, burning of living people in their homes, and desecration of the bodies of the dead, reminding too many Jews of the stories from the dark period in history – World War II would break out.

And precisely in that period, a period in which the Jewish people in particular but also most of the world experienced lack, hunger, terror, and fear, precisely then the Albanian people revealed their greatness and morality. At a time when Jews living in European countries feared that their neighbors would hand them over to the Nazi authorities, Muslim citizens in Albania took care to hide Jews in their homes, provide them with local clothing, fake certificates, integrate their children into schools and protect them in their homes in the cities and mountainous regions of Albania, all while taking risks very personal

The result was amazing, the number of Jews in Albania at the end of World War II was eight times more than at the beginning of the war, as a result of the immigration of Jews from neighboring countries.

Recently, there has been a significant warming in relations between the countries. The Israelis discovered Albania as a close, cheap, and convenient tourist destination that combines amazing landscapes, fine food, and hospitable and interesting people. The business community in Israel is beginning to discover the benefits of cooperating with the high-quality manpower of the young people of Albania, whose percentage of holders of academic degrees is astonishingly high. Israel, which is known as the start-up nation, sees the great potential in Albania, as a country that can integrate and also lead many developments in high-tech and industry.

In 2021, with the assistance of our firm in Israel, a double tax prevention treaty was signed between Albania and Israel, a treaty that significantly facilitated the conduct of business activities between the two countries.

Since then, our branch in Tirana has accompanied Albanian businesses that are interested in cooperation with Israel in the context of knowledge, high-tech, etc., and Israeli businesses that are interested in entering the Albanian market and constitute a chamber of commerce to promote business opportunities.

The deep historical connection between the nations and the pleasant feeling received by Israeli businessmen in Albania, in my opinion, will deepen the cooperation between the countries.

Nimrod Yaron. The author is an accountant, economist, lawyer, former senior official at the Israel Tax Authority, who manages an Israeli consulting company that operates a branch in Tirana.