Khaled Abdul-Wahab
Encyclopedia
Khaled Abdul-Wahab was a Tunisia
n man who saved several Jewish families from Nazi persecution during the Second World War.
Abdul-Wahab, the son of an aristocratic family, was 31 when German troops occupied Tunisia in November 1942. Tunisia was then home to approximately 100,000 Jews. Under the Nazis' anti-Semitic policies, they were forced to wear yellow badge
s and were subject to fines and having their property confiscated. More than 5,000 Tunisian Jews were sent to forced labor camps, where 46 are known to have died; another 160 Tunisian Jews in France
were sent to European death camps.
Abdul-Wahab, an interlocutor
between the Nazis and the population of the coastal town of Mahdia
, heard that German officers were planning to rape a local Jewish woman, Odette Boukhris; instead, he hid her, her family, and several other Jewish families, about two dozen in all, at his farm outside town for four months, until the occupation ended.
Satloff, who had been searching for records of Arabs who had saved Jews from the Holocaust, was first informed of Abdul-Wahab by Odette Boukhris' daughter, Annie Boukhris, who had also been hidden by Abdul-Wahab at the age of 11; shortly after recording her testimony, she died at age 71. Satloff then went to Mahdia and confirmed the story.
Although nominated, Abdul-Wahab still has to be approved by the Yad Vashem
commission that grants the honor. Yad Vashem has conferred the honor on more than 70 Muslims, but thus far no Arab had ever been nominated. Most of the Muslims who received the award are Albanians. Abdul-Wahab's case has already been once studied by the Righteous Among the Nations Department of Yad Vashem but it was declined on the premise that saving Jews in Tunisia was not against the law at the time and the saviors did not risk their own lives and safety which is a necessary condition in proclaiming a person Righteous among the nations.
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
n man who saved several Jewish families from Nazi persecution during the Second World War.
Abdul-Wahab, the son of an aristocratic family, was 31 when German troops occupied Tunisia in November 1942. Tunisia was then home to approximately 100,000 Jews. Under the Nazis' anti-Semitic policies, they were forced to wear yellow badge
Yellow badge
The yellow badge , also referred to as a Jewish badge, was a cloth patch that Jews were ordered to sew on their outer garments in order to mark them as Jews in public. It is intended to be a badge of shame associated with antisemitism...
s and were subject to fines and having their property confiscated. More than 5,000 Tunisian Jews were sent to forced labor camps, where 46 are known to have died; another 160 Tunisian Jews in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
were sent to European death camps.
Abdul-Wahab, an interlocutor
Interlocutor
Interlocutor may refer to:* Interlocutor , the master of ceremonies of a minstrel show* Interlocutor , someone who informally explains the views of a government and also can relay messages back to a government...
between the Nazis and the population of the coastal town of Mahdia
Mahdia
Mahdia is a provincial centre north of Sfax. It is important for the associated fish-processing industry, as well as weaving. It is the capital of Mahdia Governorate.- History :...
, heard that German officers were planning to rape a local Jewish woman, Odette Boukhris; instead, he hid her, her family, and several other Jewish families, about two dozen in all, at his farm outside town for four months, until the occupation ended.
Satloff, who had been searching for records of Arabs who had saved Jews from the Holocaust, was first informed of Abdul-Wahab by Odette Boukhris' daughter, Annie Boukhris, who had also been hidden by Abdul-Wahab at the age of 11; shortly after recording her testimony, she died at age 71. Satloff then went to Mahdia and confirmed the story.
Although nominated, Abdul-Wahab still has to be approved by the Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
commission that grants the honor. Yad Vashem has conferred the honor on more than 70 Muslims, but thus far no Arab had ever been nominated. Most of the Muslims who received the award are Albanians. Abdul-Wahab's case has already been once studied by the Righteous Among the Nations Department of Yad Vashem but it was declined on the premise that saving Jews in Tunisia was not against the law at the time and the saviors did not risk their own lives and safety which is a necessary condition in proclaiming a person Righteous among the nations.
External links
- Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Faiza Abdul-Wahab from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Robert Satloff from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- The World: Khaled Abdulwahab
Further reading
- Among the Righteous: Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach into Arab Lands, Robert Satloff