A special event took place in Tirana on Thursday- the opening of the Hebrew Language Course at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the University of Tirana, which, as the Israeli Deputy Ambassador to Albania, Yuvale Fischer, said gives a big boost to both countries in the future relations with people to people contacts in every aspect that can be imagined by Albanians and Israelis.

Present in the ceremony during which a collaboration agreement was signed by the Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Artur Sufa, and the Israeli Deputy Ambassador, Yuvale Fischer, were the Ambassador of Israel to Tirana, Boaz Rodkin, the Deputy Rector of the University of Tirana, Bernard Dosti, deans of different faculties, professors, students that registered to study the Israeli language, and the teacher, Geri Kureta, an Albanian Jew, who is also the head of the Jewish community and has been a teacher in Israel.

In his welcoming remarks the Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Sufa expressed the great pleasure for such an achievement underlining: “Today, we have made possible the achievement of an old dream.”

For his part the UT Deputy Rector Bernard Dosti said other events of the kind will follow soon. “This is only the beginning of the cooperation between the University of Tirana and the Israeli universities,” said Dosti.

In his speech on the occasion part of which was the donation of books for the students who will study the Israeli language, the number two of the Israeli Embassy in Tirana, Yuvale Fischer pointed out to the audience that both languages of Albanian and Jewish people are ancient ones. "Albania-Jewish relations are close and time shows that they are getting even closer," said Mr. Fischer in the following remarks:

The Albanian language is an Indo-European language which has evolved from Illyrian language. As we know, Illyria has been to this region from around the 12 century BC. Albanian language has no any similar language and no shares languages. It is a unique language.

During the history people that lived there at this area were occupied by different intruders. Some of them are the same that dominated Israel, for example: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Both nations suffered a lot under those intruders. Jewish people preserve their language because it is a holy language that use at religious ceremonies and the Albanian people use the Latin alphabet. Both languages are ancient languages.

Several facts can prove how old and close are the relations between Albanian and Israel languages. Contacts began from 70 A.D when a lot of Jewish people had left their land because of Roman intruders. During this time a mass of Jewish settled down here in different parts of Albania, especially in the South. Ancient Hebrews have left a lot of marks in Albania.

Some historians and linguist's searchers believes that old settlements names like: Palasa correspond to Palestine, Orikum from Jeriko and Finiqi to ancient from Fonika. These toponyms can prove the old relationship between two ethnicities goes back to ancient times.

In the Ottoman registry of 1591 shows that only in Vlora were 582 Jewish families out of 1558 families. Jews from Vlora and Durres kept relations with markets of Sicily and Venetian Republic. Jewish people continually appeared as testimonies and guaranties in different economy contracts between others.

This fact made the Hebrew language very important for trade in Adriatic Sea, like, you can say, English today. Albania-Jewish relations are close and time shows that it is getting even closer. The opening of the Hebrew Language Course today in Albania gives a big boost to both countries in future relations with people to people contacts in every aspect that we can imagine.