The Charlotte Jewish News - March 2012 - Page 6
Levine-Sklut Judaic Library and Resource Center
BESA: A Code of Honor
At the Levine-Sklut Judaic Library in Conjunction with
Violins of Hope
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The Levine-Sklut
Judaie Library will be
hosting a reception for
the opening of the Yad
Vashem exhibit BESA:
A Code of Honor -
Muslim Albanians
Who Rescued Jews
During the Holocaust.
The event will be held
on Wednesday, March
14 at 7 PM in the
Library.
The photographic
exhibit, which will be located in
the Speizman Gallery - adjacent
to the Library - offers a glimpse
into the lives of a people whose
commitment to their faith requires
them to act unselfishly even under
the most dire circumstances.
Albania, the only European
country with a Muslim majority,
succeeded in the place where other
European nations failed. Almost
all Jews living within Albanian
borders during the German occu
pation, those of Albanian origin
and refugees alike, were saved.
Besa is an Albanian interpreta
tion of the Koran, and is generally
translated as “faith” or sometimes
“to keep the promise.” It
Some of the photos from Norman Gershman’s eolleetion that
will be on exhibit starting Mareh 14 at the Levine- Sklut Judaie
Library and Resouree Center.
deeply ingrained in the Muslim
Albanian culture that failure to act
honorably toward others is a
source of shame and disgrace.
Albania is perhaps the only nation
where religious prejudice does not
exist and where compassion
toward others is the nation’s high
est ethical code.
Besa also means taking care of
those in need and being hos
pitable. During World War II,
Albanians, 70% of whom are
Muslim, saved over 2,000 Jews
from Nazi persecution. Some were
hidden in caves, in woods, or in
bunkers, but many—^particularly
the children—were able to live in
homes as family. Whatever the cir
cumstance, Albanians
provided them with
food, shelter, and cloth
ing; more important,
they provided safety and
a great sense of belong
ing.
The exhibit is based
on the work of American
photographer Norman
H. Gershman and his
quest to tell the remark
able history of the
Albanians who saved
Jews during the Holocaust. Over a
five-year period he sought out,
photographed, and collected
dozens of powerful and moving
stories of heroism. His work, in
photographs and text, reveals the
extraordinary choices of ordinary
people acting within their true
Muslim faith.
In story after story, they speak
the same truth. Their faith, and the
compassion it instilled, left no
room for doubt. They must, no
matter what the peril and what the
cost, do the right thing.
The exhibit will be on display
March 14-May 15 and is free and
open to the public. ^
IS so
Award Winning Author Edith Pearlman
Visits Charlotte
Edith Pearlman has published
more than 250 works of short fic
tion and short non-fiction in
national magazines, literary jour
nals, anthologies, and on-line pub-
Insurance for Home, Muto, Business and Life.
“My father, Harry, founded Swimmer Insurance Agency nearly 60 years ago offering
security to the community and helping families through times of trouble. Today, we
continue that tradition of service with everything we do. We will be there for every
milestone, every hardship and every transition your family or business experiences.”
- DAVID SWIMMER
Swimmer
Insurance
Agency
725 Providence Rd
Charlotte. NC 2B207
704.333.6694
www.swimmerinsurance.com
lications.
Her first collection of stories,
Vaquita, won the Drue Heinz Prize
for Literature and was published
by the University of Pittsburgh
University Press in 1996. Her sec
ond, Love Among The Greats, won
the Spokane Annual Fiction Prize.
Her third collection. How to Fall,
was published by Sarabande Press
in 2005 and won the Mary
McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction.
Her fourth collection. Binocular
Vision: New and Selected Stories,
was published in January 2011.
“Pearlman’s prose is smooth
and poetic, and her world seems
safe and engaging. So it’s arrest
ing when, suddenly, almost imper
ceptibly, she slips emotion into the
narrative, coloring it unexpectedly
with deep or delicate hues.” —
Roxana Robinson, The New York
Times
Her current book. Binocular
Edith Pearlman
Vision, is the first book to be nom
inated for the National Book
Award, the Story Prize, and the
National Book Critics Circle
Award in the same year.
Join us for a reading, question
and answer session, book signing,
and dessert reception at the
Levine-Sklut Judaic Library on
Wednesday, April 18 at 7 PM.
Free. ^
The Levine-Sklut Judaic
Library and Resource Center
To the Jewish Historical Society
gratefully acknowledges the
of Greater Charlotte:
following donations to the
Sandra Goldman, in honor of
library:
Janice Zacks
To the 2011-12 Friends of the
To the Florence Melton Adnlt
Library and/or Endowment
Mini-School
Campaigns:
The Friday Morning Melton class,
Author - $100 to $249
in honor of Thelma Wand’s birth-
Douglas and Kelly
day
Wilson
Burt and Donna Greenspon, in
Poet - $50 to $99
honor of Rabbi Yossi and
Stuart and Carolyn
Mariashi Groner
Hennes
David Jacobson
To the General Fnnd
Reader - up to $49
Michael and Robbie McGinley, in
David and Janet
memory of Riselle Lemer, mother
Lefkowitz
of Lisa Nagel