Chief Rabbi Alexander Safran’s Struggle before his Expulsion from Romania

Chief Rabbi Alexander Safran’s Struggle before his Expulsion from Romania

Author(s): Carol Iancu / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

For better understanding Alexander Safran’s “struggle” in defense of the Romanian Jews’ rights after his election as Chief Rabbi of Romania, it is necessary to recount, if briefly, his itinerary, his education, his first writings and first stands.

Semitism as a Metaphor for Modernity

Semitism as a Metaphor for Modernity

Author(s): Răzvan Pârâianu / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

There is a widespread belief that anti-Semitism is a nonsensical construction because it is based upon an obsession against something that does not exist, which is Semitism.1 Indeed, Semitism as a name for an ethnic or religious group is not relevant because its meaning, originated in the 19th century scholarly debates over the Semitic family of languages, does not describe anything particularly Jewish but rather a much more general linguistic feature relevant for the family of Semitic languages, including the Arabic ones.2 Thus, the identification of the Semites was as problematic as the recognition of the Aryans within the modern world.3 However, many 19th century intellectuals did refer to something that may come under the incidence of Semitism. Directly or indirectly, they described a specific way of life or mode of thinking in order to portray the image of the Semite. Semitism was not only Judaism or Jewishness, but l’esprit publique of a world they perceived as decadent. The Jews, of course, were often seen as the first example of Semitism, but they were not necessarily the only ones susceptible of being “contaminated” by Semitism. Wilhelm Marr accused Germany of being Judaicized,4 Édouard Drumont denounced France for being Jewish5 and the examples could continue almost endlessly. Yet, though in many of these texts the danger took the form of an effective conquest or invasion of the [...]

Lessons of History: What Hitler Learned from the Armenian Genocide

Lessons of History: What Hitler Learned from the Armenian Genocide

Author(s): Felicia Waldman / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

It obviously does not take much of an expertise to realize that had the Armenian genocide of 1915–1916 been taken seriously in its time, mid-20th century European history would have turned entirely different. Jewish and Armenian history has not only been often compared (particularly in regard to their respective Diasporas and even, to a certain extent, fates) but also quite tightly intertwined. Let us recall here a few examples. In his eagerness to help the Jewish cause, Theodor Herzl himself was ready to turn a blind eye to the Armenians being murdered by the Turks, in exchange for Jewish autonomy in Palestine. Lured by the Caliph with future vague possibilities, he allowed himself be talked into supporting Abdul Hamid II’s position in the Western press. It is estimated that in 1896–1897 the Sultan managed to massacre between 80,000 and 200,000 Armenians. But Turkey’s overwhelming foreign debts put him at […]

Remembering the Holocaust. An Inquiry into the Fascinating and Intricate World of Holocaust Memory

Remembering the Holocaust. An Inquiry into the Fascinating and Intricate World of Holocaust Memory

Author(s): Adriana Bunea / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

It happened 60 years ago, far and away from our daily lives. Far and away from our universities, work places, families and hometowns. They say almost six million people died in it. Yet, people die all around the world… There are only few survivors, generally old people of whom we hardly hear something. Now and then there are impressive ceremonies where you can see important statesmen, smartly dressed, with serious and meditative expressions on their faces paying their respect to the victims of the Holocaust… Even so… apparently… what is now labeled as “the Holocaust” has little to do with our every day existences, as there is no longer a Hitler among political leaders, no more SS officers to perpetrate crimes, no World War taking place… Therefore, the following question comes naturally to one’s mind: why remember the Holocaust? Why maintain, keep alive and pass to our children the memory of that horrendous “rupture of civilization”?

Competing Memories of Fascism in Postwar Europe

Competing Memories of Fascism in Postwar Europe

Author(s): Mihai Chioveanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

“Who controls present controls past. Who controls past controls future.” Since 1948, the year George Orwell published his famous novel 1984, few scholars, journalists, and politicians have “dared” ignore this causal relation. Scholars are essentially concerned with the theoretical aspects. Journalists and politicians are interested first and foremost in its applicabilities. For them, the mechanisms that lie behind the intrinsic relation connecting past, present, and future, are important. However, what they are looking for are the final results, which they either promote or aim to prevent. Nowadays scholars constantly operate with the “Orwellian paradigm”. Whenever needed, they apply it to the multitude of existing cases to emphasize “nuances”. In fact, some of them say, it is not only for the totalitarian states and authoritarian regimes to use the past in order to legitimate their current policies and to emit claims over the future. Democratic governments are, in their turn, “culpable” from that perspective. Naturally, in the last case, scholars generally refer to a Felix Culpa.

The Boom of Testimonies after Communism: The Voices of the Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Romania (1989-2005)

The Boom of Testimonies after Communism: The Voices of the Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Romania (1989-2005)

Author(s): Stefan Ionescu / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

In this article I intend to deal with the relation between Jewish survivors and Holocaust remembrance in post-communist Romania. Therefore I will investigate the consequences of the Holocaust experience on Jewish survivors from the perspective of how, when and why they remember the catastrophe. My investigation will not particularly focus on the level of the trauma and sufferings they have to live with, but rather on how the political, social and cultural factors have managed to influence the public recollection of the war sufferings and the survivors’ attitude towards Holocaust remembrance. I am interested in discovering mainly the way these tragic experiences were perceived at the personal level by individual survivors and why, how and when they were recorded and became public. Thus, from the numerous (re)sources that contributed to the extremely wide field of Holocaust’s collective memory, I will focus on the nonfictional accounts of Jewish survivors

Reconsidering “Totalitarianism”: Preliminary Remarks

Preliminarii la reconsiderarea conceptului de "totalitarism"

Author(s): Michael Shafir / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 5/2005

Keywords: Hannah Arendt şi Originile Totalitarismului;

Cartea Hannei Arendt, Originile totalitarismului, apare în anul 1951. Manuscrisul însă fusese terminat încă din anul 1949. Este o carte aparent confuză, poate cea mai confuză dintre cărţile scrise de Arendt. Motivele sunt evidente oricărei persoane care o parcurge cu atenţie. E greu de spus dacă avem de a face cu un volum de istorie, de ştiinţe politice, de sociologie, de filosofie politică sau chiar de istorie literară. De fapt, avem de a face cu trei manuscrise adunate într-un singur volum (Canovan, 2000, p. 26) şi asta face ca miezul dezbaterii să oscileze dintr-o parte într-alta.

Volk (people) and Sprache (language) in Herder’s Outlook. The Speculative Theory of Ethno-nation

Volk (popor) şi Sprache (limbă) în gîndirea lui Herder. Teoria speculativă a etno-naţiunii

Author(s): Victor Neumann / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 5/2005

Teoria naţiunii la Herder şi aceea aparţinînd intelectualilor din fostul imperiu austriac necesită o constantă reluare. Aceasta pentru că este de revăzut ce anume stă la baza judecăţilor severe formulate de cărturarii germani asupra culturii franceze, respectiv, în ce măsură reproşul adresat perspectivei materialiste franceze era motivat de spiritualismul generaţiei lui Hamann, Herder şi Goethe şi ce urmări a avut în sfera ideologiilor franceze; pentru că e important să dezvăluim semnificaţiile construcţiei culturale propagată de curentul Sturm und Drang şi de întemeietorii acestuia, Hamann şi Herder; pentru că trebuie să înţelegem de ce acest curent de idei exaltă pentru prima oară tot ceea ce se presupune că este german (ca de exemplu arta gotică); pentru că este de reţinut care au fost diferenţele dintre cultura germană şi aceea franceză a secolului al XVIII-lea, adică, de exemplu, de ce Enciclopedia lui Diderot – o adevărată promotoare a paradigmei moderne raţionale, acceptată, multiplicată şi urmată de toţi francezii alfabetizaţi –, a fost provocatoare ori de neacceptat pentru congenerii germani ai enciclopediştilor.

On Religiousness after the Holocaust

On Religiousness after the Holocaust

Author(s): Alice Rusiecki-Nicolae / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

How does a Jew who suffered in/after the death camps see him/herself, religiously speaking? ‘The post-Holocaust era will be a religious one or it will not be at all.’ Do we have the right to imagine this Jewish alternative to Malraux’ statement? What position would Christianity take in this matter? In trying to reach for answers to the questions risen above, I intend to discuss the one aspect of Jewish identity that was probably the most affected by the Nazi experience – the religious self awareness.

Mankind’s Red Cow: Manifestations of Humanity’s Irrationality Towards the Jews Before the Shoah

Viţeaua Roşie a omenirii cum s-a manifestat iraţionalismul umanităţii cu privire la evrei în perioada de dinaintea Shoah

Author(s): Remus Spridon / Language(s): Romanian / Issue: 5/2005

Keywords: Scepticismul ca mecanism de cercetare;

Omenirea are în interiorul ei germenele răului care trebuie izolat pentru a putea birui binele; aceasta se realizează printr-o ordonare a intelectului unui individ, a unei naţiuni, a umanităţii în ansamblu ei.

Book reviews

Book reviews

Author(s): Andrei Oişteanu,Georgeta Colcigeanu,Monica Andriescu,Răzvan Pârâianu ,Antonio Ciocan-Fontanine,Adriana Bunea / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

Andrei Oişteanu: Esther Benbassa & Jean-Christophe Attias (eds.), Ura de sine. Identităţi dificile [Self-hatred. Difficult Identities], Editura Samuel Tastet, Bucharest, 2005 Monica Andriescu: Radu Ioanid, Răscumpărarea evreilor: Istoria acordurilor secrete dintre România şi Israel [The Ransom of the Jews: History of the Secret Agreements between Romania and Israel], Polirom, Iaşi, 2005 Monica Andriescu: Richard J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich, London: Penguin Books, 2004 Adriana Bunea: Carol Iancu, Lupta Internaţională pentru Emanciparea Evreilor din România. Documente şi Mărturii, [The International Struggle for the Emancipation of Romanian Jews. Documents and Testimonies], Hasefer, Bucharest, 2004 Adriana Bunea: Klas Goran Karlsson, Ulf Zander, (eds.), Echoes of the Holocaust. Historical Cultures in Contemporary Europe, Nordic Academic Press: Lund, 2003 and Klas Goran Karlsson, Ulf Zander, (eds.), Holocaust Heritage. Inquiries into European Historical Cultures, Sekel Bokfőrlag: Malmo, 2004 Antonio Ciocan-Fontanine: Michael Mann, The Dark Side of Democracy. Explaining Ethnic Cleansing, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2005 Răzvan Pârâianu: Marius Turda, The Idea of National Superiority in Central Europe, 1880–1918, Lewiston: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2005 (in Romanian) Georgeta Colcigeanu: Harry Kuller, Presa Evreiască din România, Tritonic, Bucharest, 2004 (in Romanian)

The Holocaust Remembrance Day in Romania

The Holocaust Remembrance Day in Romania

Author(s): Andrei Oişteanu / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

Just like with people, for a community the absence of memory is harmful. Saying that those who forget their mistakes are condemned to repeat them has become a truism. On the other hand, excessive remembrance too can have negative effects. But can we speak of an excess of remembrance in regard to the Holocaust in Romania? On the contrary, here we are rather in the first case: forgetfulness, ignorance and minimization of the phenomenon.

Hate in Belleville

Hate in Belleville

Author(s): Radu Ioanid / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

Paul Goma lives in Belleville. His recent book Basarabia (Bessarabia) ends with a breathtaking confession related to his Jewish neighbors: “I watch the elderly people in the street, poorly dressed, most of them leaning on walking sticks; judging by the acquisitions in their plastic bags, their “budget” is only slightly more significant than ours… I know them, I can feel them, I can see through them and their shabby coats, through the women’s rare hair, so rare it makes one cry, through the plastic texture of their empty wallets, through the fabric of their deflated bags… And I feel we are similar.[...]

Nazism Before and After the Seizure of Power

Nazism Before and After the Seizure of Power

Author(s): Monica Andriescu / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2005

The legacy of the German past was an onerous one in more than one regard. One of the questions that have seldom and legitimately been asked is whether the German peculiarities and political culture made the rise and victory of Nazism unavoidable. It still remains an open question whether the twinges of uncompleted nation-building during the Bismarckian period would have eventually dispersed had they not been markedly expanded by the legacies of the First World War. What remains beyond doubt though is that the devastating effects of the war at the level of the German society and political system boded ill for the future. Therefore, allegations about where the accountability for Germany’s defeat should be positioned only added to the general conflicting frame of mind; the humiliating peace settlement aggravated the situation, leaving the majority of ordinary Germans infuriated; leading to political fragmentation, lack of legitimacy of the Weimar Republic and to the feebleness of the whole political system.

Who are they and what are they doing? The Association of Businesswomen and Women Entrepreneurs BPW - First Croatian Club Pula

Tko su i što rade? Udruga poslovnih žena i poduzetnica BPW - Prvi hrvatski klub Pula

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 26/2005

Keywords: businesswomen; women entrepreneurs; BPW International

BPW International is the biggest association of businesswomen and women entrepreneurs in the world. It was founded in 1930 and has members in 110 countries. Its Croatian representative has around forty women members, tradeswomen, entrepreneurs and businesswomen, and its primary goal is business informing, lobbying and education, next to the opening of new supsidiaries all over Croatia. Out of many activities of this non-partisan, non-governmental and non-for-profit organization it is necessary to emphasize its monthly expert lectures in the field of business law and its monthly presentations or promotions of products and services of BPW members. For more information check www.bpw.hr

Publicly Against Discrimination and All Forms of Violence Against Women

Javno protiv diskriminacije i svih oblika nasilja protiv žena

Author(s): Slavica Jakobović Fribec / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 26/2005

Keywords: women's human rights; violence against women; the media; economic status of women; women's entrepreneurship

The author of this work organizes and moderates the panel discussion Višeglasne gošće (app. part-singing guests), which has presented different aspects of gender issues during previous four years. This piece is dedicated to most exposed and visited panels, and it especially emphasizes the panels on the economic status of women. It also elaborates the current status of women in Croatia, which in author's opinion has deteriorated after the 2003 parliamentary elections, and we witness everyday violation of women's and homosexual human rights, which is displayed in the growth of discrimination in the economic field (the number of unemployed women is on the growth, their wages and working conditions are not balanced, reported frequent cases of gender-based and sexual harassment are also on the growth). Cases of domestic violence and violence against women are also on the growth, through which the fundamental human rights to a life without violence is violated. The media and commercials are full of sexisms, sensationalism, stereotypes about women, and discriminatory portraying of both women and men. The political participation of women, i.e. the number of women in governmental and representative bodies, but also on all levels of political and social decision-making, is below satisfactory level and is not in accordance to the constitutionary and legally granted equality of sexes. The historic portrayal of feminism development also points to the changes in economic status of women, and this work concludes with the analysis of women's entrepreneurship in Croatia and the presentation of activities of the Women's Entrepreneurship Center Rosa Zagreb.

Women Entrepreneurs

Žene u poduzetništvu

Author(s): Vlado Galičić,Ivanka Avelini Holjevac / Language(s): Croatian / Issue: 26/2005

Keywords: women; entrepreneurship; management

Although women make up the majority of the world's population, in the field of entrepreneurial activities they constitute the minority due to their socially, economically and politically inferior position with regard to men. Women carry out two thirds of all work in the world, but earn only one tenth of world income and own less than one percent of world goods. Sex-related inequalities on the labor market and in entrepreneurial activities are connected to unequal educational and training opportunities which are further reflected in the extent to which women participate in business, and in their choice of profession and possibilities for advancement. The change in social paradigms has radically altered the balance of powers between women and men in society at large, as well as in business. It is a fact that there are fewer entrepreneurs among women than among men. The Croatian economy, however, has begun to show an increase in the number of women entrepreneurs, which is an extremely positive trend, as the economy is in need of as many qualified, skilled and educated people as possible, regardless of their sex. The main handicaps to increasing the number of women and their competitiveness in entrepreneurial activities can be found in traditional prejudices, sociological attitudes of those responsible for the development of entrepreneurship, scepticism towards women, as well as in the ambiguities existing both within the legislative infrastructure and among the preconditions for a more dynamic development of entrepreneurship. Although the opportunities open to women in the field of entrepreneurship continue to grow, this is a process that hinges upon the functional domain i.e. the type of the activity. Namely, different activities provide different opportunities for the accelerated development of entrepreneurial activities in women. This paper presents suggestions aimed at increasing the number of women active in the sphere of entrepreneurship in the Republic of Croatia. Furthermore, attempts have been made to expose the socio-cultural elements that hinder women from entering the world of entrepreneurship, and to describe what happens to women once they have joined the male world of entrepreneurship. The aim of the paper is to identify the major obstacles encountered by women in establishing a business. This paper also serves to support the entrepreneurship of women and to promote its development.

Intelligence for competitiveness and national security in the knowledge society (I)

Intelligence pentru competivitate si securitate nationala in societatea cunoasterii

Author(s): Marian Sebe / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/2014

Keywords: national intelligence model, competitiveness, national security, Knowledge Society, knowledge capital

With the transition to the knowledge economy, the value of all social, organizational and individual entities is directly dependent on its intellectual and knowledge capital. Unfortunately, the majority of decision-makers focus too much on the tangible assets, almost to the point of ignoring the intangible ones. However, in order to successfully navigate this world, where the global is directly connected to the local it is essential, to first understand the interaction between certain key-concepts, such as politics, economy, knowledge, intelligence, strategy, competitiveness and security. In the new evolution paradigm knowledge means value, while intelligence means power, that is why the paper analyzes the evolution of national intelligence systems in an attempt to shed some light on the interaction models employed at international level, which can then be adapted an re-configured to fit the necessities of developing countries, willing to engage in such a national endeavor. To develop a national intelligence model applicable for Romania, the study employs benchmarking analysis to compare the structure and performance of various national intelligence systems and extract those structural elements that fit the overall approach to continuous improvement. To insure the efficiency of the results, we have selected for the comparison leading examples of national intelligence systems: the US, France, Great Britain, Canada and Germany. The analysis resulted in a set of guidelines and best practices that, after integration can be used to elaborate a blueprint for the development of a Romanian national intelligence system by both decision-makers and representative of the academia and private sectors. This research product is by no means comprehensive, as there are many other case studies that could and should have been included in the benchmarking analysis, in order to create a full picture of the overall evolution undergone by states in the process of developing national intelligence systems. Though the issue of national intelligence system has been debated before, both in the academia and at governmental level, as proven by the existence of the Carayon Report and the works of Robert Steele, this has always occurred in large states, with a strong tradition in the field. The originality of this paper it that is uses benchmarking to try to understand the processes taking place in all those places and then extract key elements and patterns that then can be re-adapted and replicated for a different type of state, such is the case of Romania.

Doctrine and Intelligence

Doctrină si intelligence

Author(s): Adelina Andrei,Marian Sebe / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/2014

Keywords: doctrine, intelligence, organization, strategy, transformation

Development, implementation and compliance with a clear and concise intelligence and national security doctrine are a sine qua non requirement of existence, functioning and achievement of strategic and tactical objectives in any organization or nation state. Power and performance can be achieved by public and private institutions, at both organization and state level, through strategic and doctrinal linking. Specialized intelligence and security management can operate effectively only through flexible and coherent doctrinal foundation, providing decision makers with a real advantage, based on which national security geopolitical strategies are built. International doctrinal schools, such as those in Canada, United States of America, United Kingdom or Australia as well as NATO’s, have included a series of fundamental elements in building an intelligence doctrine, which is necessary to each state that wants to embrace these principles, including at organization level.

Ethics of Nuclear Weapons and National Security Intelligence

Ethics of Nuclear Weapons and National Security Intelligence

Author(s): Michael Andregg / Language(s): English / Issue: 11/2014

Keywords: nuclear weapons, national security, intelligence, ethics

From the beginning of the nuclear age there have been fears that we may have invented a weapon that will destroy us all. J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped build the first fission bombs, commented often on this (1). Albert Einstein, whose letter to then President Franklin Roosevelt helped convince him to fund them, talked about the imperative to seek peace and new ways of thinking about everything as he neared death (2). Bertrand Russell coauthored a Manifesto with Einstein (and nine others) to warn the world that everything had changed (3). Yet thousands of thoughtful people still felt compelled by the urgencies of World War II to make nuclear weapons and to use two of them against other human beings. To end the war, they said to each other, and perhaps to show the Soviets who would be the big dog following.