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Correspondence from Mirel Horodi

A group of Romanian personalities are visiting Israel to take part to the International Book Fair in Jerusalem. The group includes Dorel Dorian (writer and journalist, deputy in the Romanian Parliament), Eugen Uricaru (president of the Union of the Romanian Writers), writers George Balaita and Ileana Andrei Cudalb, Lucian Pricop (director in the Ministry for Culture and Cults), Alex Singer (manager of the Hasefer Publishing House belonging to the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania) and Silviu Lupescu (general manager of Polirom Publishing House).

On Friday morning, the Writers' House in Tel Aviv hosted a press conference organized by the Association of the Israeli Writers in Romanian and by the Union of the Romanian Writers. Here are some of the statements made by the participants:

Eugen Uricaru (president of the Union of the Romanian Writers): "Apart from the tragic moments in the century-long history of living together of Romanians and Jews (moments that must not be forgotten, so that they cannot happen again), we have to look at the future with hope. To research the past with a positive attitude, not seeking vengeance. Culture is what unites us. It must help us make a better world. A friend in need is a friend indeed. The presence of the Romanian delegation in Israel at this time expresses true friendship. Nowadays, anti-Semitism in Romania is not only directed against Jews (who are very few, by the way), but also against those who support democracy and freedom. This is why we need to stay united against those who want to bring hatred back to life."

Dorel Dorian (representative of the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania in the Parliament): "The statement that a Holocaust did not take place in Romania is a regrettable incident, but already a thing of the past. The protests in Romania and abroad were very effective. The fact that the things were straightened out will have a positive effect. The Federation has many achievements in its relationship with the Government and especially with the Ministry for Culture and Cults and Academy member Razvan Theodorescu (in the field of preserving the cultural heritage, like the synagogues in Bacau and Orastie, cemeteries etc.). An important achievement will be the posting on the Internet of the Romanian cultural Jewish heritage, a work of great proportions that was started by the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania. Also, "The Jewish Reality" had a special issue for the fair.

Alexandru Singer (manager of the Hasefer Publishing House) announced the launch of "The Biography of the Israeli Writers in Romanian". He also sent the salute of Academy member N. Cajal (president of the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania), who explained his concept of real-Semitism as a rational attitude opposed to anti-Semitism, which is a very negative attitude, aiming at propagating irrational hatred.

George Balaita said, among other things: "Do not bear the truth like a dog on a leash. Let it loose."

Silviu Lupescu (manager of Polirom Publishing House) said that his house brought 200 titles to Jerusalem, including "The Return of the Hooligan" by Norman Manea and "The Kabala" by Moshe Idel.

Lucian Pricop (representative of the Ministry for Culture and Cults) said that the book fair in Jerusalem is very important and that the Romanian bookstall will include 80 publishing houses and 1.300 titles.

Ileana Andrei Cudalb (the Department for Romanians Everywhere) said that the Department had important achievements in promoting writers in Israel.
The moderator of the press conference: Shaul Carmel, President of the Association of the Israeli Writers in Romanian.

The Romanian poet Irimie Straut is the author of two recent articles dedicated to the history of the Jews on the territory of Transylvania, which he published in the Transylvanian edition of "The Daily Event". The first article is entitled "Jews, a community obstinate to resist". The author tells the story of the first miners in the Jiu's Valley (at the middle of the 19th century), who were mostly Jews, and of the first important building in the region, which was a synagogue (its ruins are still visible today). One of the pictures accompanying the article shows the synagogue in Deva, built at the middle of the 19th century with the support of rich local people, some of whom were Christians.

The second article, published on May 21, is entitled "The Jews from Hunedoara under four dictatorships". Here is a quotation which refers to the racist laws following 1938: "…anti-Semite laws and decrees, one more murderous than the other, emergency decisions, press releases, declarations or appeals to chauvinistic and anti-Semite hatred, they all poured down like a flood of blood and fire (also affecting Gypsies and neo-Protestant Christians)."

The Center for Studying the History of the Jews in Romania of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (the Dinur Research Center) will organize on Monday, June 23, a round table on Romanian-Israeli cultural interferences. The partcicpants are:

On the occasion of the International Book Fair, the Jerusalem Cultural Circle will organize a round table which will be attended by writers and editors from Romania and Israel. Several recently published works in both countries will be presented and commented upon. Writers Eugen Uricariu, George Balaita, Alexandru Sever, Dorel Dorian, Shaul Carmel, Virgil Duda, Michaek Finkental are among the guests. The event will take place on Friday, June 27, at 11:00, at the Old Movie Theater in Jerusalem (library hall).