When international travel became legal in summer 1990, members of Albania’s small Jewish community—largely shielded during World War Two—began planning the emigration they had long been dreaming about: a move to Israel. Some had already begun quiet discussions with Israeli officials, laying the groundwork for their departure. They worked with Israel’s Jewish Agency, which helped get Jews from around the world to Israel. The more secretive Israeli Liaison Bureau assisted Jews from communist states.
The operation involved both the Jewish Agency, which facilitated Jewish immigration to Israel worldwide, and the more discreet Israeli Liaison Bureau, which specialized in aiding Jews from communist countries. Together, they devised “Operation Flying Carpet,” a plan to move Albanian Jews to Israel, primarily through Italy and Greece, because Albania and Israel had no formal diplomatic ties until August 1991.
As with previous efforts in other nations, Israel agreed to compensate the Albanian government for each Jewish emigrant—$2,000 per person. But secrecy was paramount. A botched 1985 operation to evacuate Ethiopian Jews, exposed by media leaks, had already taught the Jewish Agency the price of publicity. On the other side, Albanian Jews feared that President Ramiz Alia might cancel the plan if it became public. The older generations remembered an aborted emigration attempt in 1952, when Enver Hoxha unexpectedly revoked exit visas at the last moment.[i]
In mid-December 1990, the first group quietly departed from Tirana. Over the next five months, around 270 Albanian Jews made their way to Israel, aided by the Greek and Italian governments. Another 37 resettled in the United States.
By April 1991, the head of the Jewish Agency announced from Tel Aviv: “The Jewish diaspora of Albania no longer exists.”[ii] The statement was largely accurate. Fifty-two Jews—many intermarried with non-Jewish Albanians—chose to remain in the country of their birth.
___________________
[i] See “Secret Operation Whisked Last Jews from Albania to Israel,” by Tom Hundley, Chicago Tribune, April 14, 1991, and “Homecoming of Albanian Jews Completed,” by Bill Hutman, Jerusalem Post, April 12, 1991.
[ii] “From Forgotten Land to Promised Land: Albanian Immigrants Arrive,” by Allyn Fisher, Associated Press, April 11, 1991.
