Romania honours anti-Semite

From Reuters:

20:26 19.08.10

Romania: We will not withdraw coin depicting anti-Semitic leader

U.S. Holocaust Memorial official had asked Romania to withdraw coins bearing the image of Miron Cristea, who had stripped 37 percent of the Jewish population of its citizenship.

Romania’s central bank on Thursday said it would not withdraw from circulation a coin featuring an image of a prime minister who stripped Jews of their citizenship before World War II, stressing it had not intended to send an anti-Semitic message.

The coin depicts the late Patriarch Miron Cristea, who led the Romanian Orthodox Church from 1925 to 1939 and was prime minister from 1938 to 1939. A commission set up by the National Bank to reconsider it said it was minted only as one of five to commemorate Romania’s five patriarchs at the request of Romania’s influential Orthodox Church.

What a lame “defence” of this anti-Semitic propaganda coin by Romanian officialdom. Yeah right … if the German central bank would mint five coins, of Adolf Hitler and of two German heads of state before Hitler and two after Hitler, then “everyone would understand” that would not be rehabilitation of Hitler blah blah blah because not just Hitler was depicted blah blah blah blah.

Radu Ioanid, who runs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum‘s international archives in Washington, had called for the withdrawal of the coin commemorating Cristea. He was not immediately available for comment.

As prime minister, Cristea was responsible for revising the citizenship law, stripping about 225,000 Jews – or 37 percent of the Jewish population – of citizenship.

US museum slams Romania for ‘anti-Semitic’ coin: here.

This is a video about the recent discovery in Romania of a mass grave of Jews, murdered during the second world war on the orders of fascist Romanian army officers.

Racist British National Party Relaunches American Outreach Effort: here.