Encyclopaedia Judaica
Jews in Rumania
(Romania) 1944-1971 (01): Destruction of racist
Zionism in Rumania
Harsh conditions 1944-1947 - "Soviet" Rumania -
emigration movements - racist Zionists take the lead -
elimination of racist Zionist organizations since 1948 -
relations to Herzl Israel
from: Encyclopaedia Judaica
(1971), vol. 14
presented by Michael Palomino (2008)
When Rumania broke with Nazi Germany and entered the war on
the side of the Allies (Aug. 23, 1944), Rumanian Jewry had
been considerably decreased as a result of the Holocaust and
it was about to decrease even further through emigration.
The struggle for Jewish independence in Palestine influenced
Rumanian Jews, and the goal of
aliyah, which had been deep-seated in the
community in the past, became a powerful force.
The decisive factor in the life of Rumanian Jews after World
War II, however, was the political regime in Rumania, which
exercised its authority over the community life of Rumanian
Jewry, determined the structure of its organization, and
limited its aspirations. Government control was prevalent
during the first period - from Aug. 23, 1944 until the
abolition of the monarchy (Dec. 30, 1947) - and even more so
in succeeding periods, through all the internal changes that
altered the regime in Rumania.
[Jewish identity in
communist Rumania is not destroyed like in "Soviet Union"]
For a few years after the abolition of the monarchy, Rumania
closely followed the line dictated from Moscow. This
situation continued until the end of the 1950s, when the
first signs of an independent Rumanian policy began to
appear. Until 1965 the pattern of this policy gradually
solidified, and from then, with the personal changes after
the death of President Gheorghiu-Dej, Rumania entered with a
full independent policy.
All the changes in government and policy also left their
mark on Jewish community life. The situation of Rumanian
Jewry always had a special character. Even in the days of
complete dependence on Moscow, when the tools and
institutions of national Jewish identity were destroyed and
expression of Jewish aspirations was repressed, Rumanian
Jewry was not compelled to be as alienated [[changed]] from
its national and religious identity as were the Jews of the
Soviet Union.
At the end of the 1960s the Jewish community in Rumania
found itself in an intermediate position. Its
activities displayed indications of free community
life as well as the limitations imposed by the government.
Variations in the government's policy also reflected the
connection between the status of Rumanian Jewry and the
official attitude of Rumania toward Israel. this mutual
influence was expressed in all the areas of Jewish life and
especially through the central issue of the right to leave
the country and settle in Israel. (col. 410)
POPULATION [Jewish figures
in the extended Rumania after 1945: 1947: 428,312 - 1956:
officially 144,236]
The characterizing factor of the demography of Rumanian
Jewry during this period was the constant decrease in the
community's size. The only source on the size of the
Rumanian Jewish community at the end of World War II is a
registration (the results of which were published in 1947)
that was carried out on the initiative of the World Jewish
Congress. According to the registration, there were
428,312 Jews in
Rumania at the time.
This (col. 410)
number was the balance after the losses caused by the
Holocaust, the annexation of Bessarabia and North Bukovina
by the U.S.S.R., and the migration to Palestine during the
war. The professional composition of the community at that
time (1945) was as follows:
49,000 artisans,
35,000 employees,
34,000 merchants and industrialists,
and 9,500 in the free professions.
Ten years later the Jewish population had been reduced to
about a third. According to the census taken on Feb. 21,
1956, there were 144,236 Jews in Rumania, of whom 34,263
spoke Yiddish.But these figures are probably lower than the
true numbers, as it is known that in the above-mentioned
census members of minority groups were not allowed to
identify freely with their national group and the government
encouraged them to declare their membership in the Rumanian
nation.
[Emigration wave 1944-47 -
emigration until 1970]
The drastic reduction in the size of the Rumanian Jewish
community was largely a result of mass emigration,
especially during the years 1944-47. The means of emigration
were dictated by the conditions of the war and its
aftermath. At the end of the war thousands of Jews,
terrified by the Holocaust, fled Rumania through its western
border, which was still open, and reached the West by their
own means. In addition to this spontaneous migration, 14
refugee boats left Rumanian ports carrying 24,000 illegal"
immigrants to Palestine. A portion of Rumanian Jewry,
including thousands who left Rumania of their own volition
immediately after the war, was also among those who boarded
refugee boats to Palestine in other European ports.
[[This emigration wave was well organized by Mosad Jewish
secret service and was against any English order and against
the Arabs living in Palestine]].
From the establishment of the State of Israel (1948) until
the end of the 1960s, over 200,000 Rumanian Jews settled in
the new state. In addition, it should be noted that not all
the Jews who emigrated from Rumania went to Israel; about
80,000 others were scattered throughout other countries. At
the end of the 1960s the Rumanian Jewish community numbered
no more than 100,000.
THE LIQUIDATION OF JEWISH
ORGANIZATIONS [Herzl Zionists take over all leadership of
the Jews - persecution and forbidden Herzl Zionists since
1948]
On Aug. 23, 1944, when Rumania joined the Allies, the
Zionist movement came up from underground to operate legally
and openly through all its currents and institutions.
[[The Zionist activity was against any English order about
Palestine and against any Arab in Palestine]].
The same was true of the Jewish Party, which was reorganized
as the representative body of Rumanian Jewry and headed by
the Zionist leader A.L. *Zissu. In (col. 411)
1945 an extension of the Communist Party was established
among the Jewish population under the name the Jewish
Democratic Committee (Comitetul Democrat Evreesc). For about
four years the Zionist movement maintained regular
activities in the fields of organization, education,
training farms, and Zionist funds, as well as through
international ties.
In 1948 there were 100,000 members in the movement and 4,000
in *He-Halutz, with 95 branches and 12 training farms. The
Zionist Organization in Rumania participated in the world
Zionist Congress in Basle in 1946. A general representation
of Rumanian Jewry (including delegates from the Jewish
Democratic Committee) was present at the Montreux conference
(1948) of the World Jewish Congress. These were the last
regular contacts of Rumanian Jewry with Jewish organizations
abroad; afterward the ties were severed for an extended
period.
[[As since 1948 the Israel regime under dictator Ben Gurion
was cooperating with criminal CIA and criminal "USA" Stalin
cut off all connections between the eastern and western
Jewry because Israel became another "American" state and was
a stone of the encirclement of the "Soviet Union" (which was
financed also by the criminal "USA" of course...]]
The more the Communist Party strengthened its power, the
more Zionist activity in Rumania turned from "permitted" to
"tolerated", until it was finally outlawed completely. The
instrument of this process was the Jewish Democratic
Committee, which never succeeded in striking roots among the
Jewish population, in spite of the support it received from
the authorities. The cue to abolish Zionist activities was
given in the decision of the central committee of the
Communist Party on June 10-11, 1948, in the midst of
Israel's *War of Independence.
[[This war was provoked by the Herzl Zionists and Mosad who
were not giving any rights to the Arabs and have not signed
any human rights until today. The Zionists lead the Jews
into a trap and the war is going on until today (2008) and
the western media - steered by criminal "USA" - never
mention this]].
The decision stated that "the party must take a stand on
every question concerning the Jews of Rumania and fight
vigorously against reactionary nationalist Jewish currents."
As early as the summer of 1948 the liquidation of Zionist
training farms was begun, and the process was completed in
the spring of 1949. In November 1948 the activities of the
Zionist funds were forbidden. On Nov. 29, 1948, a violent
attack on the branch of the Zionist Organization in
Bucharest was organized by the Jewish Communists. On Dec.
12, 1948, the party decision was again publicized, including
a clear denunciation of Zionism, "which, in all its
manifestations, is a reactionary nationalist movement of the
Jewish bourgeoisie, supported by American imperialism, that
attempts to isolate the masses of Jewish workers from the
people among whom they live." This statement was published
in the wake of a bitter press campaign against Zionism
during November and December 1948. (col. 412)
The persecution of the Zionist movement was also expressed
by the imprisonment of
shelihim
[[emissaries]] from Erez Israel. On Dec. 23, 1948, a general
consultation of Zionists was held and resulted in the
decision to dissolve "voluntarily" the Zionist
organizations. Following this decision, the Zionist parties
began to halt their activities, with the exception of
*Mapam, the youth movements, and He-Halutz.
The World Jewish Congress also ceased to operate in Rumania.
Those organizations that did not close down at the time
continued to operate formally until the spring of the
following year. On March 3, 1949, however, the Ministry of
Interior issued an order to liquidate all remnants of the
Zionist movement, including youth movements and training
farms. With this order the Jewish community in Rumania was
given over completely to the dominance of the government
alone - at first by means of the Jewish Democratic
Committee, until it too was gradually dissolved.
In April 1949 the youth movement of the Jewish Democratic
Committee was disbanded just as the Communist Party Youth
(UTM) was organized, and the committee itself was disbanded
in March 19533, together with all other national
miniorities' organizations in Rumania. In 1949-50 the
activity of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
in Rumania was discontinued by order of the government.
The hostile attitude toward the [[racist]] Zionist movement
was also expressed in Rumania's attitude toward Israel,
which gradually hardened and led to the frequent
imprisonment of previously active Zionists. There were ups
and downs, however, especially in the area of propaganda,
until the situation in general began to improve at the
beginning of 1967. (col. 413)
[[Racism of Zionists in Israel with the idea of a "Greater
Israel" from the Nile to the Euphrates (1st Mose chapter 15,
phrase 18) has not changed until now and the imperialistic
phrase in the 1st Mose book has not eliminated until now
though the majority of the Jews never want this "Greater
Israel" and are tired of war (2008)]].
[Herzl] Israel-Rumania
Relations
In September 1948 the first Israel representative to
Rumania, the artist Reuven *Rubin, arrived in Bucharest, but
neither he nor his successors succeeded in substantially
developing the relations between the two countries for a
number of years. Until 1965 the relations were regular but
cool, especially because of the attitude of the Soviet Union
toward Israel, which was strictly followed by Rumanian
foreign policy
[[because racist Herzl Zionist Israel was collaborating with
criminal CIA and criminal "USA" and encircling "Soviet
Union"]].
Every so often the relations between the two countries were
shaken by crises that were felt on the level of diplomatic
representation (the extended absence of a minister at the
head of the mission) or were expressed by the expulsion of
Israel diplomats. Cultural ties were not developed during
the period, and trade also remained static at a modest level
(in the climax year, the mutual trade balance between Israel
and Rumania reached $4.5 million).
These relations improved considerably,however, as Rumania
grew more independent of the U.S.S.R. in international
affairs. From February 1966 a Rumanian minister again headed
the Rumanian mission in Israel. In March 1967 a high-level
Rumanian economic delegation visited Israel for the first
time, and afterward an Israel economic delegation, headed by
the finance minister, went to Bucharest; full trade
agreements were signed.
In 1968 the trade balance between (col. 415)
the two countries reached $20,000,000, and subsequently
trade increased. Cultural relations also expanded (Israel
musicians, choirs, etc. visited Rumania and the countries
exchanged art exhibitions), as did tourism from each country
to the other.
The *Six-Day War (1967) served as a decisive test in the
relations between Israel and Rumania.
[[The Six-Day War was the racist Zionist success and
expanded the frontier to the Nile as it was the aim of 1st
Mose chapter 15 phrase 18, and the frontier on the east was
put to the Jordan, a step further to the Euphrates.
Palestinians fled or are treated second class until now
(2008)..]]
On June 10, 1967, a consultation of all East European
nations, including Yugoslavia, was held in Moscow and
resulted in a denunciation of Israel's "aggression". The
participating states also decided to sever diplomatic
relations with the State of Israel. Rumania, however,
refused to sign the denunciation and also refused to carry
out the conference's decisions. She did not sever diplomatic
relations with Israel and refrained from taking part in the
anti-Israel Soviet propaganda campaign. Rumania repeatedly
expressed her stand that the Arab-Israel dispute must be
settled by political means, taking into consideration the
just rights of both sides. In August 1969 Rumania and Israel
elevated their diplomatic missions to the rank of embassies.
[E.P.]>
