The first Arab to be honoured as Righteous among the Nations could be Khaled abd al-Wahab, a Tunisian: the title is  assigned by the Yad Vashem, the Jerusalem museum dedicated to the remebrance of the Holocaust victims, to all non-Jews who distinguished themselves trying to save lives during the Nazi extermination of the Second World War.

Not to forget. Estee Yaari, spokesperson for the Yad Vashem, states: “The case of al-Wahab must still be examined by the Commission for the designation of the Righteous among the Nations, so any comment on the issue is inappropriate at the moment”. The Yad Vashem is awaiting the moment when the Commission that finds the material for the nominations and verifies it will speak about al-Wahab.
But the process has started, thanks to the testimony of Anny Boukris, a Tunisian Jew, who was saved together with others of her religion during the Second world War by Khaled, a farmer who died in 1997. Having taken refuge in Los Angeles afer the war, Anny did not forget the kind farmer who kept her and 24 other Jews hidden in his farm, until the nazis left the arab country, in 1943. Anny also remembered that one day, during a house search, Khaled defended with all his strenghth Anny’s own mother, saving her life. So Anny decided to devote herself to giving merit where it was due, to the Tunisian who fought for her, in these times of widespread fobia for Islam, especially in the post-11th September United States.

A positive message. The project of the Righteous among the  Nations started in 1963, when the foundation that runs the Yad Vashem decided to commemorate all those who risked their life, although they were not Jew, to save the innocents hounded by the nazis. A commission of experts collects documents and declarations about a person who is brought to their notice by witnesses of the times. A group of scholars, which in the case of Khaled and other Arabs is Robert Satloff, professor of United States history, analyses all the elements and decides who may be awarded the title. At that point, if it is recognised that the person carried out deserving actions on behalf of Jews, a tree is planted on the hill of the Righteous, which is part of the Yad Vashem complex,together with the Road of the Righteous. Up to now more than 20000 people have been commemorated for their courage. A recognition that in the case of Khaled, an Arab, would have an even deeper meaning in a land like Palestine.