La Derecha Diario Shame: the government of Romania prevents the punishment of antisemitic expressions
Parliament had passed a law to penalize antisemitic speech, but the President halted its implementation
The decision of Romania's president, Nicușor Dan, to delay a law that toughens penalties against hate speech and the glorification of fascism has sparked strong condemnation from the local Jewish community.
Last Friday, after parliamentary approval of an amendment to the 2015 law against hate and xenophobia, Dan surprised by sending the text to the Constitutional Court to halt its implementation.
The bill, promoted by deputy Silviu Vexler, introduced prison sentences for those who promote antisemitism on social media and glorify the fascist Iron Guard movement, an ally of Nazism.
"This decision pushes Romanian Jews into a situation of enormous anguish", denounced Maximillian Katz, director of the Center for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism in Romania. "Every time we try to explain why we don't want to live surrounded by hate, a new wave of antisemitism breaks out. It's already happening", he warned.
It is worth noting that antisemitic actions have multiplied in Europe in recent months.
As a sign of protest, Vexler returned the Medal of Merit awarded by the State. According to him, without this legislation, the national plan against antisemitism loses its meaning and must be canceled.
Dan justified his decision by claiming that the law could be used to criminalize former members of the anti-communist resistance who were also part of the Legionary movement.
However, the numbers speak for themselves. A recent survey revealed that 53% of young Romanians believe that the figure of six million Holocaust victims is exaggerated. 15% believe that the Holocaust is a myth.
In a country with a painful history of Nazi collaboration and denialism, the president's lukewarmness is not neutrality: it's complicity.
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