Righteous among the Nations (Hebrew: חסידי אומות העולם, khassidey umot ha-olam "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.
The term originates with the concept of "righteous gentiles," a term used in rabbinical Judaism to refer to non-Jews, as ger toshav and ger zedek, who abide by the Seven Laws of Noah.
Read more about Righteous Among The Nations: Bestowing, Righteous Among The Nations By Country and Ethnic Origin As of January 1, 2012, Veneration, In Israel
Famous quotes containing the words righteous and/or nations:
“A town is saved, not more by the righteous men in it than by the woods and swamps that surround it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Poor nations are hungry, and rich nations are proud; and pride and hunger will ever be at variance.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)