Albania–Israel relations

Albania has recognized Israel as a state since April 19, 1949. Diplomatic relations between the countries were established on August 19, 1991. Albania has an embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Israel has an embassy in Tirana, Albania. Albania was the only European country, of those occupied by the Axis powers of World War II, that emerged from World War II with a larger Jewish population than it had before the Holocaust. In 1999, Israel took in Kosovar Albanian refugees from the Kosovo War, providing them with medical care, food, and accommodations. In 2018, a monument dedicated to former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres was elected in Tirana to honour his memory. Also in 2018, Albanian Ambassador to the UN Besiana Kadare of Muslim-majority Albania co-hosted an event at the United Nations with Jewish-majority Israel and Catholic-majority Italy, celebrating the translation of the Talmud into Italian for the first time. In November 2019, after a deadly earthquake struck Albania, Israel sent Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military engineer troops to Albania to search through the rubble for survivors and rescue them, assess whether buildings were structurally sound, and provide Albanians who had been evacuated from their homes with waterproof tents to shelter them. In January 2020, Albanian President Ilir Meta met with Israel Defense Forces soldiers during an official visit in Israel, embraced them, thanked them for their assistance, and awarded them the Albanian Golden Medal of the Eagle. History of the Jews in Albania and The Holocaust in Albania Albania was the only European country, of those occupied by the Axis powers of World War II, that emerged from World War II with a larger Jewish population than it had before the Holocaust. Its Jewish population rose from 200 before World War II, to more than 3,000 at the end of the war. Not only did the Albanians protect their own Jews, but they provided refuge for Jews from neighboring countries. The Albanians refused to comply with the Nazis and hand over lists of Jews.