1. Decency Amongst Discord
Strife between Jews and Arabs is an historical anomaly. The situation we find
ourselves in today is the result of tampering with the historical record, of a selective
memory so erroneous in its recollections, that the opposite is in fact true.
Petain’s Vichy government of the 1940s missed few
chances to collaborate with their Nazi masters. In
colonial Algeria, Nazi laws requiring the confiscation
of Jewish property and assets by the state were
followed to the letter.
This significant amount of wealth was to be
auctioned off to all non-Jews, Frenchmen and Arabs
alike, selling vastly below market price but still
making a substantial profit for the middlemen.
The French settler community eagerly snapped up
these bargains.
However, not a single Arab took part.
In fact, the Muslim religious authorities in Algeria at
the time - led by Sheik Taieb El-Okbi - issued a firm
pronouncement forbidding Muslims from economic
gain at the expense of the Jews.
Across The Divide
Robert Satloff has written at length about the Arab support of their Jewish neighbours
during the 1930s and 1940s. These stories seem almost fanciful in the light of present
day events in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon.
The rise of the so-called ‘Islamic State’ has damaged the idea of progressive, liberal,
enlightened Muslims in the minds of many. In many circles throughout the West, the
mere mention of the word ‘Islam’ brings to mind intolerance, oppression, and an
introverted, insular, ‘fifth column’ community.
Flawed though these notions may be, their prevalence
indicates how much the modern public image of Muslims in
the West has diverged from historical fact.
Take, for example, the story of Si Ali Sakkat. This
privileged descendant of Muslim nobility - the former
mayor of the capital city of Tunis - found his countryside
retirement interrupted by 60 Jewish labour camp
escapees.
Surrounded by war weary German soldiers, officers and
artillery, Sakkat gave the Jews lodging, food, and kept
them safe under a watchful eye on his farm.

2. Or consider the story of Khaled Abdul-Wahab, a
Tunisian aristocrat. Referred to as the ‘Arab
Schindler’, he forestalled the planned rape of a
Jewish woman by getting a German officer drunk.
He then drove to the woman and collected her and
her family, as well as their neighbours and 25 other
people.
They stayed at his farm, each person in their own
room, in complete safety, until the withdrawal of
German troops.
In Algeria, Taieb el-Okbi - a reformist Sheikh, close
to Abdelhamid Ben Badis - discovered large-scale
incitement of the people, to start pogroms against
the Jews. He issued a formal religious
proclamation, expressly forbidding any attacks on
Jews and Muslims.
Satloff describes how some have likened him to the famous counter-Vichy priests
Saliège and Gerlier, although “the level of great personal risk El-Okbi bore for
campaigning on behalf of Jews exceeded that of the French Catholic prelates”.
In the darker areas of the vast German occupation, amongst the bleak environments
of the work camps, solidarity between Jewish deportees, and Arabs opposed to French
colonial rule, was commonplace.
“It was not unusual for Arabs and Jews to face the pain and torture of Vichy labor
camps side by side” (Satloff). This spirit is unfortunately much harder to find in the
Israel of today, where violent segregation tarnishes occupiers and occupied.
Beyond Borders
Tales such as these are not limited to North Africa. In 1941, after heavy aerial
bombardment of Sarajavo in Bosnia, the Jewish Kavilio family sought refuge in their
workplace. En route, they met Mustafa Hardaga, a Muslim friend. He sheltered them
until the end of the war.
A conservative Muslim
family, their hospitality
became evident when his
wife Zejneba Hardaga
ceased to wear the veil in
the presence of the
Kavilios, welcoming the
guests into their family,
demonstrating their
solidarity and unity.
This story is particularly
interesting as, when Bosnia
was overcome by warfare
in the 1990s and the

3. Hardagas themselves became refugees, the Kavilios successfully petitioned the
government of Israel to allow the Hardaagas refuge. Muslim-Jewish hospitality reaches
full circle.
Neither is this limited to WWII. In Andalusia, during the 10th to 13th centuries, the
thriving commercial city of Cordoba ushered in prosperity for Moors, Christians, and
Jews alike. When the Spanish monarchy launched the Crusades, thousands of Jews
fled, heading for Islamic North Africa.
The Crusaders sought to punish all heathens - no differentiation was made between
Jews, Muslims or any other faith. The Jews knew - from experience - that their only
chance of living in peace and prosperity would be with their Muslim neighbours.
It’s difficult to imagine such Jewish-Arab cooperation and solidarity occurring today.
But it has happened throughout History - it is the norm. Our present situation
deviates from this; perhaps by making more people aware of the historical facts,
violence and strife will begin to leave the Levant.