A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Real Bad Ideas: Albania as the Jewish State?

Most of us have heard of the (seriously discussed) plan to create a Zionist state in Uganda rather than Palestine; but this report in Haaretz is new to me, though the idea is apparently that of a journalist rather than a diplomat, back in 1935: making Albania the Jewish state.

Obviously this is one of those ideas that never was seriously considered. Beyond the fact that Albania is overwhelmingly Muslim, raising obvious questions about its suitability, it would have overlayed the whole Middle Eastern question on the always enduring Balkan ones. My first thought was: and you thought Kosovo was complicated now?


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