ROMANIAN PROGRAM TO REMEMBER THE HOLOCAUST

The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust hosted on October 28, 2004 the first Romanian Program to Remember the Holocaust.

The event organized at the initiative of the Consulate General of Romania in Los Angeles has been agreed upon in partnership with the American Jewish Committee together with the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.

The initiative gathered approximately 50 participants, Jewish people originating from Romania, Americans, Romanians living in the US and a few members of the Los Angeles

Consular Corp.

The guests received handouts of the speech of Mr. Ion Iliescu, President of Romania, delivered at the Reunion dedicated to the commemoration of The Holocaust Day in Romania at the Parliament of Romania on October 12, 2004. Various American political personalities have sent written messages: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California and Congressman Brad Sherman, member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of The US House of Representatives.

The Consul General of Romania, Hon. Claudiu Lucaci, emphasized in his address the importance of commemorating in Romania, for the first time, The Holocaust Day. He underlined that Romania assumes a responsibility of a painful episode in its history, hereby proving the political maturity acknowledged at international level.

Following, Dr. David Meyers, Director and Professor of History at UCLA Center for Jewish Studies stressed the importance of permanent remembrance of the Holocaust out of at least three obligations. First, the political, is generated by the existing and evolving anti-Semitism also in European states, the insurgence of neo-Nazi manifestations and their dissemination through the internet thus touching a broad variety of population worldwide. The other two obligations cover the moral and the philosophical aspects.

Dr. David Meyers commended the Romanian Government and the Consulate General of Romania for the sincere and decisive manner in which it has brought up the anti-Semitic and racist attitude of the Legionnaire and Antonescu Governments in Romania.

Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, Western Regional Director of the American Jewish Committee, expressed his thanks for the organizing of this event and his appreciation regarding the initiative of the Consulate General of Romania. Furthermore, he pointed out the positive impact of the modalities Romania has chosen to cooperate with the Jewish-American organizations in the US.

The program of the evening included as well the lecture of selections from a book written by Lupu Gutman, Romanian survivor, writer and filmmaker who presently lives in the US. The lecture was performed by Dr. Nathan Shapira, Romanian survivor, Professor Emeritus at UCLA.