JERUSALEM (VINnews)  — In today’s world, where Israel is fighting for its public legitimacy in the international arena, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stands out as an exceptional phenomenon. He leads a country with a clear Muslim majority, yet has become one of the sharpest and most articulate voices supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against its enemies. He did not hesitate to wear the hostages’ pin on the lapel of his coat during official speeches, and he holds positions on Hamas that would make even the most militant Israelis nod in agreement.

Rama, who visited Israel about two weeks ago, is a painter and former professor of art. He is known to paint routinely between cabinet meetings and fateful phone calls.

In an interview with journalist Shlomo Cooperman in Mishpacha magazine, published on Thursday morning, the prime minister was asked: “If you had to sketch one drawing right now that captures the state of the world today, what would we see?”

“Chaos,” he replied in a single word. “That’s what I would draw. And it wouldn’t be particularly difficult,” he added with a weary smile, “since all my paintings are absolute chaos. Apparently, the world and my studio speak the same language.”

“I don’t know how familiar you are with our history,” he continued, “but we have a deep connection with the Jewish people, who arrived in Albania in different waves over the centuries. In the city of Sarandë, we have the remains of an ancient 5th-century synagogue with a beautiful menorah mosaic. Jews were always welcomed here when they fled persecution in Europe. In the Middle Ages, in the city of Vlorë, Jews even formed the majority of the population.”

Rama spoke proudly of this history: “On the eve of the war, only about 200 Jews lived in Albania, and we are the only country where more Jews lived after the Holocaust than before it. The population grew to around 3,000 because we protected them like no one else. We did not hand over a single Jew to the Nazis. About 75 Albanians were officially recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, but in practice the entire population mobilized.”

For Rama, Israel and Albania stand on the same side of the divide not only because of history, but because of a shared contemporary existential threat. “Albania experienced direct Iranian cyber aggression, and we responded decisively,” he said, referencing the severing of ties with what he called “the butchers of Iran.” For him, it is a matter of national pride that Albania stands alongside Israel and the United States against what he described as “hell on earth,” where innocent people are murdered on a massive scale, with reports indicating tens of thousands killed within days. “The fact that we are acting against a common enemy explains – very cruelly, unfortunately – why we stand together. This is not political convenience, but moral principle.”

Rama has repeatedly stated that Hamas are the “Nazis of the 21st century.” When asked whether he still stands by those words, he did not hesitate: “I believe this completely,” he said firmly. “For me, this is not a political slogan but a historical analysis. We are a people who saved Jews from the original Nazis, and anyone who studies history can easily recognize the same ideology of annihilation. Hamas’s ideology is a threat to humanity itself, just as the Nazis were eighty years ago.”