When Romanian President Ion Iliescu arrived here Monday on a historic state visit, it did not take long for the subject of anti-Semitism to crop up.
Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy said anti-Semitism in Romania had clouded relations between the two countries. But a senior Romanian official accompanying Iliescu denied his country had ever been anti-Semitic and said the president’s visit is “a good opportunity to clear up misunderstandings.”
There is little doubt that anti-Semitism has been on the rise in Romania since the December 1989 overthrow of longtime dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
A visit to Romania in July by international Jewish figures to mark the 50th anniversary of anti-Jewish pogroms was marred by anti-Semitic outbursts, even as speeches were made denouncing the resurgence of anti-Semitism.
And Romania’s chief rabbi, Moshe Rosen, has had death threats made against him in the past year.
One newspaper, Romani Mara, which published especially conspicuous anti-Semitic articles, was recently closed. However, another publication, Europa, continues to publish anti-Semitic articles. In July, it published a diatribe against Israel’s ambassador to Romania, Zvi Mazel.
Still, Romania was the one Eastern bloc nation that never broke relations with Israel. Most of nearly 400,000 Jews left in Romania after the Holocaust were allowed to make aliyah, and Bucharest has continued through the years to serve as a transit point for Soviet Jews immigrating to Israel.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry official pointed out Monday that, unlike other Eastern European countries, Romania did not support the 1975 U.N. General Assembly resolution denigrating Zionism as a form of racism.
Iliescu’s four-day visit is the first by a Romanian president to Israel. The main purpose is to strengthen economic ties between the countries. On Monday, the two nations signed their first official trade pact.
Bilateral trade has intensified since the downfall of the Communist government in Bucharest, with a trade volume of $50 million between them. In particular, Romania buys phosphates from Israel and sells it iron products.
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