Rafael Moshe Kamhi

Rafael Moshe Kamhi
Rafael Moshe Kamhi (1963)
Born
Рафаел Моше Камхи

(1870-12-15)December 15, 1870[1]
Monastir, Ottoman Empire (now Bitola, North Macedonia)
Died(1970-07-08)July 8, 1970
Tel Aviv, Israel
NationalityOttoman, Greek, Bulgarian, Israeli
Other namesSkander Beg
Official notice of Kamhi issued by the Bulgarian authorities, used to help him to obtain Bulgarian citizenship during World War II.
Official document issued by the Bulgarian authorities to Kamhi, which served as a guarantee to Nazi Germany, that prevented him being sent to an extermination camp.

Rafael Moshe Kamhi (Bulgarian and Macedonian: Рафаел Моше Камхи, 1870–1970), also known by the military pseudonym Skanderbeg,[2][3] was a Sephardic Jew from Monastir (now Bitola) in Ottoman Macedonia. Besides being Jewish, Kamhi felt also strong attachment to the region of Macedonia as his native homeland.[4] Kamhi was elected as liaison officer of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO).[5] He directly participated in the Miss Stone Affair and in the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising of August 1903.

Kamhi is among the few survivors of the Holocaust in Thessaloniki after being saved by Bulgarian authorities, while 90% of the Jewish population there was murdered.

  1. ^ Stojanovski 2006, p. 42.
  2. ^ Macedonian Review. Kulturen Zhivot. 1989. p. 11. Rafael Moshe Kamhi, known by his military pseudonym of Skender Beg.
  3. ^ Lebel, Jennie; Lebl, Ženi (30 April 2008). Tide and wreck: history of the Jews of Vardar Macedonia. Avotaynu. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-886223-37-0. One of them, the best known of all, was Raphael Moshe Kamhi (1870-1970)
  4. ^ Assa 1994, p. 78"This is one of the main reasons why Rafael Kamhi himself felt more like a Macedonian than a Jew. Like his fellow Macedonian Jews he loved Macedonia as his native land, the Macedonians as his brothers, and freedom as the primary aim of ..."
  5. ^ Lebel, Jennie; Lebl, Ženi (30 April 2008). Tide and wreck: history of the Jews of Vardar Macedonia. Avotaynu. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-886223-37-0. Raphael Kamhi was unanimously elected liaison officer of the VMRO