Page 44 - AACL 25th anniversary

Anniversary Celebration of
Albanian American Civic League
2012
2013
2014
April Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi presents a
November The New York Times
September Cloyes DioGuardi Testifies
2012
“Casting Light on Little-Known Story of Albania Rescuing Jews from Nazis” by Joseph Berger is published in the International Section of The New York Times—the first major Western newspaper to document the unique role that Albanians in Albania and Kosova played in saving Europe’s Jews during the Holocaust. This was the result of extensive work by Berger, in collaboration with Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi. The article announces the Albanian American Foundation’s forthcoming program on this story at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan.
paper about the future of the Western Balkans in the European Union at the 6th annual European Centre for Excellence conference at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Documents the Unique Role of Albanians during the Holocaust on the Occasion of the AAF’s Program at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
at a House Subcommittee on Europe Briefing on the Emerging Crisis in Macedonia
DioGuardi and Cloyes attend the 50th anniversary of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann at the United Nations.
After a year of the AACL lobbying Congress about the emerging crisis in Macedonia, Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi and Roland Gjoni publish “Why the West Should Pay Attention to the Brewing Crisis in Macedonia,” and Cloyes DioGuardi presides at a briefing on Macedonia in the hearing room of the House Subcommittee on Europe. Former Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen chairs the briefing with Subcommittee Chair Dana Rohrabacher and Ed Royce, Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Former Congressman Joe DioGuardi, and AACL Board members and supporters Agim Alickaj, Marash Nuculaj, Ramazan Hajdini, and Destan Aliu also give their remarks.
June DioGuardi Speaks at the
Commemoration of the Victims of Communism Memorial
Joe DioGuardi is a featured speaker at the 5th annual commemoration of the Victims of Communism Memorial, and Cloyes DioGuardi publishes “Denial of Memory: It Is Time for Albania to Confront its Communist Past,” including three survivors of the infamous Spaç prison now living in the United States.
December 2013
April 2015
November 2012
The AACL Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Albania’s Independence in the US Capitol
On December 8, the Albanian American Foundation and the Civic League hold a celebration and discussion of the Albanian rescue of Europe’s Jews during the Holocaust and how it can be applied to genocide prevention in our time. Members of the US Congress, Jewish leaders, genocide prevention experts, and descendants of Albanian rescuers address the gathering at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan. The event was co-chaired by Ron Rettner, a successful business executive and community leader, who serves as
DioGuardi Testifies about Kosova and Macedonia at a House Subcommittee Hearing on “Progress and Challenges in the Western Balkans”
The Civic League brings Members of Congress, Jewish leaders, and an invitation-only group of Albanian Americans to the Senate Russell Building to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the declaration of the independence of Albania and to recognize Albanians from Albania and Kosova for their saving role during the Holocaust.
Joe DioGuardi testifies on April 29 before the House Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats in a hearing on “Progress and Challenges in the Western Balkans,” chaired by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. DioGuardi’s testimony focuses on political corruption and the economic crisis in Kosova and Macedonia, resulting in the rampant unemployment of Albanian youth in both countries.
2013
The Civic League, in partnership with the Kosova-Israel Friendship Association, publicly rejected the installation of a plaque in Prishtina that memorializes “Kosova Jews who perished in Nazi death camps during the Holocaust,” because it distorts the unique role that Albanians played in saving every Jew who either lived in Albania or sought asylum there (often with the help of Albanians living in Nazi and Serb- occupied Kosova)
April
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Holds a Hearing to Oppose the Prishtina-Belgrade Agreement
2014 AACL’s Jewish Affairs Adviser.
June 2015
The 25th Anniversary of the Albanian American Civic League and Foundation
Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi, along with Robert Churcher and Roland Gjoni, testifies before the House Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and EmergingThreats hearing on “Kosovo and Serbia: The Pathway to Peace,” chaired by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. This was the only official body in the West to oppose the EU-sponsored agreement signed by the prime ministers of Kosova and Serbia and what Cloyes DioGuardi called a “quick fix” that would fail to bring lasting peace and stability to Southeast Europe.
January Cloyes DioGuardi Addresses the UN about
The Albanian American Civic League and Foundation hold a 25th anniversary celebration at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Manhattan on June 14, honoring the work of the Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi and the Board of Directors of the Albanian American Civic League and Foundation. Co-chaired by Ron Rettner and Joe DioGuardi, the program’s theme is “Saluting Albanian Religious Tolerance in an Age of Intolerance.” Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) give keynote addresses. US Representatives Grace Meng (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Albania’s Ambassador to the UN, Ferit Hoxha, and Executive Vice-President of the New York Board of Rabbis, Joseph Potasnik offer remarks in support of Albanian tolerance. Kosova’s Roman Catholic Bishop Dode Gjergji and Imam Rifat Alili, head of the Albanian American Islamic Center of New York and Jersey, give the invocation and benediction.
May 2013
On January 27, Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi addresses the United Nations about the Albanian rescue of Europe’s Jews as part of the first program on this subject at the UN’s annual observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, sponsored by B’nai B’rith International and Ferit Hoxha, the Albanian Ambassador to the UN. (From the audience, Joe DioGuardi takes the opportunity in the Q&A to urge the Government of Israel to recognize Kosova’s independence.)
June 2014
Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi begins the research, oral history interviews, and writing of “Breaking the Protracted Silence about Genocidal Rape in Kosova,” a chapter for the forthcoming anthology Women and Genocide, edited by Dr. JoAnn DiGeorgio-Lutz and Donna Gosbee of Texas A&M University and backed by EUROCLIO (the European Association of History Educators).
the Albanian Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust
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Saluting Albanian Religious Tolerance in an Age of Intolerance