Free: Screening of the film Besa: The Promise + Panel Discussion

Join us for a screening of the award-winning 2012 documentary, . The film documents late photographer Norman Gershman's project photographing Albanian individuals and families for his book Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews in World War II. The story begins with Gershman meeting, photographing and interviewing participants and children of participants in Albania's little-known historical effort to shelter Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust. Albania, the only Muslim majority country in Europe during that era—and with Islam practiced relatively devoutly at the time, was also the only country under Nazi occupation whose Jewish population increased during the war. The Albanian value underlying this national rescue operation was besa: a duty to promise hospitality to those in need and to potentially risk everything to keep that promise.
Mordecai Paldiel, who did much of the early documentation work on Albanian rescuers and encouraged Gershman to go to Albania, will introduce the film. Following the film there will be a wider Q & A session with a panel including Paldiel, the film's co-producer Jason Williams, and Majlinda Myrto, part of a family of Albanian rescuers, and the main coordinator for Norman Gershman and the filmmakers while in Albania.
A light lunch will be served at 12:15pm prior to the program start. This will be a hybrid event - Zoom link to be announced on the Meeting website () in advance of the event.

Host or Publisher Fifteenth Street Friends Meeting (Quakers)