George Simeon is the hottest name in Romanian politics. The 36-year-old politician founded the right-wing nationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party just three and a half years ago and is already seen by the political establishment as the biggest threat ahead of the 2024 presidential elections, parliaments, municipalities and the European Parliament. In the previous general elections, held only a year after the establishment of Zahav, the party received one-tenth of all members of parliament and the Senate, and is the fourth largest in parliament.
Romania suffers from chronic political instability and has had 11 governments in the past decade, mainly due to a fragmented party map, scandals and a difficult economic situation. The strongest party in the country is still the Social Democratic Party, which has allied itself with the Liberal Party, the second largest party in parliament. The rotation between party leaders, which was postponed due to waves of protests and strikes by teachers in the country, took place this week, and despite the withdrawal of one of the coalition parties, the new government won the confidence of 290 out of 465 parliamentary deputies.
The four basic principles of the Party are family, nation, Christianity and freedom. Behind Simeon's desk, a window was designed as a map of Greater Romania, including Moldova, evidence that Gold advocates the unification of the two countries, as it was during the time of the Kingdom of Romania. This is one of the reasons their political opponents attribute neo-fascist and pro-Russian tendencies to Simeon and Gold.
"When you go to school and don't learn about Romanian history, but you have compulsory lessons on Jewish history, it can have the opposite effect."
The party defines itself as patriotic, Christian democratic, seeking to protect the rights of Romanians everywhere, highly religiously oriented and opposed to "gender ideology" and abortion. Zahav is now trying to join the ranks of the "conservative and reformist Europeans" – a faction of right-wing European parties currently headed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and since the Romanian media is mostly recruited alongside the political establishment, the party has turned social networks into its main means of conveying messages.
Simeon, a "guy from the neighborhoods," has cultivated an image of himself as an honest politician, lives with his new wife in a modest apartment in Bucharest and, he says, donates 90 percent of his salary every month to causes related to Romania or Romanians. In local politics, which is seen as corrupt to the core, Simeon is a refreshing change. He may run for president, he may seek to be prime minister.
"The Jews who left - a loss"
His political opponents attribute to him and his party an ideological or nostalgic kinship with the anti-Semitic regime of dictator Ion Antonescu and his allies, the Legionnaires of the Iron Guard, who were responsible for the Holocaust of Romanian Jewry. Some 400,<> Romanian Jews were murdered by Nazi collaborators in Romania and areas under Romanian control.
It took Romania a long time to accept responsibility for its crimes against the Jews, which continued even under the communist regime that sold the remaining refugees. Despite the accusations against him, no anti-Semitic statement by Simeon can be found, and he takes care to exclude from the ranks of his party any elected official with extreme behavior. He has visited Israel privately in the past, and soon hopes to make an official visit. In Jerusalem, there are still doubts about the man and his party, as there are about other sovereign right-wing parties in Europe, which are growing politically stronger. In an exclusive interview with Israel This Week, he sought to clarify his positions on Jews, the Holocaust and Israel.
Websites in Israel are full of advertisements calling on Israelis of Romanian descent to apply for Romanian citizenship. You and your party call for the unification of all Romanians wherever they may be. Do you see these Israelis as Romanians too?
"Of course. We have had periods in our history when we have been a great and respected country in the international arena. Many Jews of Romanian descent helped us gain this recognition. For example, Anna Aslan (a biologist and physicist) who invented gervital (anti-aging preparations), which greatly helps medical tourism in Romania. The many Jews who left Romania in the 60s and 70s are, in my opinion, a great loss for us. Now we have barely 10,000-20,000 Jews living in Romania. We had excellent connections. Minorities can help us be a richer, more diverse society."
You mean religious minorities?
"Not only, but also national minorities. We have Serbs, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Russians who fled from the Tsar and call themselves by different names, Tatars and Turks. It's good that we're not alone. Every nation and nation has characteristic lines. At a time when we were a big country, between the two world wars, you – the Jews – helped us. The Romanian parliament recently marked 75 years since the recognition of the State of Israel and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Romania and Israel in the presence of the Speaker of the Knesset (Romania was the only communist country that did not sever its relations with Israel after the Six-Day War).
"He still has fans." Ceauşescu and his wife Elena, Photo: GettyImages
"There is a problem in relations between Romania and Israel, which has to do with the memory of the Holocaust. This issue has been expropriated by a group of people who want to gain personal gain. These people are causing a lot of damage, because we are a party that will probably be a member of the Romanian government, and we can be friends with Israel from the position of power. I am sure, from everything I see in the international arena, that Israel needs friends. Looking to the future, I want to properly use 800,<> Israeli citizens of Romanian descent. It's an opportunity we're not taking advantage of."
Just don't awaken the demons
Simeon does not approve of the fact that in Romania there are those who demand that Jewish history and the Holocaust be taught in all high schools as a separate compulsory subject – such as Romanian, history, geography – and have even passed a law on the matter. "True, there are a small number of crazy people here who claim that the Holocaust did not happen. But beyond them, no one in Romania denies that this is one of the most terrible events in the history of mankind. We said that it is advisable to teach the subject as part of Romanian history lessons, because it is part of our history and this is how it should be taught. Push the subject too far, so there will be separate lessons on Jewish history, and I don't think that's good in the long run.
"We don't have anti-Semitic feelings in our society today, and we have to fight so that there are no such feelings. Israel's enemies spread anti-Semitism by claiming that you are the rulers of the world. When you go to school and don't learn about Romanian history, but you have compulsory lessons on Jewish history, it may have the opposite effect. There are several groups in Romania that push this agenda for personal gain, and we have heard accusations against our party in an attempt to push us into a corner. Holocaust remembrance should not be part of the political game under any circumstances."
Do you recognize the responsibility of the Romanian state for the crimes committed against Jews during World War II?
"No one denies it. It was the Romanian state, even if it was led by a dictator."
There were pogroms and anti-Jewish laws adopted before the dictator Antonescu and his dictatorship, as early as 1938.
"Indeed, there was anti-Semitic legislation carried out by King Carol II. He was a dictator, Antonescu was a dictator, Ceauşescu was a dictator. We lived under several dictatorships. There were ethnic problems and many anti-Semitic attitudes in our society. Fortunately, today there are no such approaches, and we need to find the right route to prevent them if they arise."
Someone who admires war criminals like Antonescu and others can't be a member of your party?
"There are admirers in Romania of Ceauşescu, of Antonescu, of Zelea Coderano [founder of the nationalist and anti-Semitic Iron Guard]. I don't admire any of them. But if we try to dictate to people how to think and conduct a witch hunt, we will reawaken the past. Our party was founded in 2019, on Romania's national holiday. We are interested in the future, not in witch hunts."
But are you saying that Antonescu was a war criminal?
"Yes, according to a moral and legal definition."
The problem with Romanian laws is that they are not necessarily implemented. This is what the government is responsible for. If you are in government, will you implement laws against the veneration of war criminals or against naming streets and memorials after them?
"After 2001, there are no more streets or sites bearing Antonescu's name. Maybe you find somewhere a memorial plaque with his name from those days, but the subject is pretty closed. The law should be enforced throughout Romania, but it is important not to abuse the issue, because it will arouse anti-Semitic feelings that we are not interested in. There are segments of the Romanian population that view Antonescu, Ceauşescu and other dictators favorably. Not necessarily for anti-Semitic reasons, but because they were the rulers, and some people believe that under their leadership Romania's situation was better. So we have to be careful not to provoke these feelings."
"I'm sorry there are no Jews here in large numbers. Romanians could not leave the country under the communist regime. If they could, they would leave and are willing to pay for it."
Would your party be willing to adopt the definition of international antisemitism?
"I haven't read this document yet. I understand that he also refers to certain negative attitudes towards the State of Israel. We recognize Israel and we can be its official partner. You can count on our friendship with Israel if there are correct relations between the parties."
You mentioned the Jews sold by the Ceauşescu regime to Israel and the West. Are you sorry this happened?
"It was horrible. People are not a herd. I regret this from a moral point of view, and as I said, I regret that we do not have Jews in Romania today in significant numbers. Romanians could not leave the country under the communist regime. If they could, many would leave Romania for anywhere else, and would be willing to pay for it. But today we need cooperation to bring to Romania some of the relatives of those who left."
Behind you are the flags of Romania and the European Union. There are Romanian minorities in countries neighboring Romania that are members of the EU. Are you talking about changing borders within the EU?
"We respect all international conventions. The only country with which we can change the border is Moldova. Both sides are interested in this. The last clause of the détente agreements adopted in Helsinki in 1975 stipulated that if a country wished to unite with an existing state or separate from an existing state, it could be done with the consent of both sides. We want minority rights to be respected everywhere. For example, in Ukraine - half a million Romanians live there.
The monument in Bucharest to the memory of Romanian Jews who perished in the Holocaust,
"We in Romania are a model for respecting the rights of minorities. We have Jews, Slovaks, Hungarians and Roma in parliament. There are schools for Serbs and Ukrainians. They have their own churches, which receive government support. We want these options to also be given to Romanians who live in neighboring countries, as well as in Italy, France or Spain – their own schools and churches – the right to use their own language."
As for Moldova, if Russia invades it, will that be an incentive for the union between Romania and Moldova?
"If the people of Moldova want it. Perhaps some of them, who still think about Greater Russia, will change their minds when they see these criminals in action. These are criminals. We'll see what happens. It's hard to predict public opinion."
The fear that Russia will expand the war exists. Is it possible that Romania will find itself at war with Russia?
"We are members of NATO. We do not expect a now weak Russia to attack a NATO member. We must promote peace by all means."
And if the war expands, is Romania ready for it?
"NATO is the largest and strongest military alliance, and I am sure it will have no problem dealing with such a scenario, which I think will not materialize."
As a rule, how do you define your party?
"A patriotic party that sees before its eyes the words of Donald Trump: 'The struggle now is between globalists and patriots.' We are patriots."
It is not very common to quote Trump today.
"It's unacceptable, but his words were true. My feeling is that we are fighting those adversaries, which are the far left and the far left, who are trying to advance an agenda and abolish the idea of nations. Trump made some bad statements and behaved badly at times, but he also had the right statements. I will always prefer Trump over Biden."
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