Hendrikus Antonius "Henk" Zanoli (born on 21 April 1923 – 9 December 2015) was a Dutch lawyer who was recognized by

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

as one of the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

in 1950, with his name being listed at

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

in the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was a member of the

Dutch resistance The Dutch resistance () to the History of the Netherlands (1939–1945), German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized as non-violent. The primary organizers were the Communist Party of the Netherlands, C ...

, which was formed to oppose the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of ''Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the Rotterdam Blitz, bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces ...

, and was personally involved in smuggling many

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

to protect them amidst the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. In 2014, Zanoli returned his Righteous Among the Nations medal to the Israeli embassy in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

and subsequently wrote to the Israeli ambassador to protest the country's ongoing military actions in Operation Protective Edge: on 20 July of that year, Zanoli's grandniece's Palestinian husband lost six members of his family after an Israeli airstrike destroyed their house in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

Death

Zanoli died in The Hague, Netherlands, on 9 December 2015, at the age of 92.

World War II

Zanoli was born in Laren in 1923. During the war, the Zanoli family were involved in the resistance. In 1943, when Zanoli's father had already been arrested by the German occupiers, Zanoli himself smuggled the young Jewish boy Elhanan Pinto from

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Eemnes Eemnes () is a municipality and a village in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The town of Eemnes Eemnes formerly consisted of two villages, Eemnes-Binnen ("Inner Eemnes") and Eemnes-Buiten ("Outer Eemnes"). These names referred to t ...

. With his mother Jans, Zanoli kept Pinto in hiding for the rest of the war. While the rest of Pinto's family were killed in

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, he survived to reach age 72 before dying in

in 2007. The resistance work cost Zanoli's father and brother-in-law their lives, while his Jewish sister-in-law was deported and never returned.

2014 Gaza War

In 2011, Israel recognized Zanoli's mother as one of the

, presenting her with an honorary medal. However, Zanoli, who himself was recognized as Righteous in 1950, returned this medal to Israel during the 2014 Gaza War in order to protest after an Israeli airstrike killed six of his grandniece's in-laws, who were

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

living in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zanoli, Henk 1923 births 2015 deaths Dutch resistance members Dutch Righteous Among the Nations People from Laren, North Holland