The Israeli Ambassador to Romania David Saranga blasted remarks made by a Romanian nationalist party calling for reducing the amount of Holocaust education in the country’s schools.
“I firmly condemn the insulting attitude and statements made by some political leaders in Romania who have found it right to qualify the genocide of the Holocaust as a ‘minor topic’ for the educational system,” Saranga said in a multi-part Twitter post.
Saranga was responding to statements made by lawmakers from the Alliance for the Union of the Romanians (AUR) that he said “minimiz[ed] the tragedy of the Holocaust.”
“I have always argued that the fair and objective knowledge over the horrors that took place during the Holocaust in Romania is necessary in order to avoid repeating such tragedies," he said. "The young generation must thoroughly learn about this dark page in the history of humankind in order to understand that antisemitism, xenophobia and intolerance have no place in today’s society and that they clash with the democratic and European values assimilated by Romania.”
Saranga went on to say that the “law providing for the introduction of ‘Holocaust and Jewish History’ in schools curriculum, recently adopted by the Romanian Parliament and promulgated by President Klaus Iohannis, offers students a chance to understand this terrible episode and the importance of compassion.”
In November, Romania made Holocaust education mandatory in all high schools.
The law, which was previously passed by Romania’s lower chamber, was supported by 107 senators, while 13 legislators voted against it and one abstained. AUR lawmakers criticized the legislation, claiming that it was unnecessary, discriminated against “our fellow citizens who belong to other minorities,” and that there hadn’t been a single “serious antisemitic case” in the past 20 years in Romania.
According to official statistics included in a report by the Elie Wiesel Institute, a total of 27 antisemitic incidents were reported to authorities in 2020. A number of Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized in recent years.
“Such statements are an outright proof of either a lack of taking responsibility, or of ignorance,” Saranga said. “Extremist reactions remind us that ideologies and radical manifestations are present even today. I am sure Romanian people will choose historical truth over antisemitic speech.”