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Gespräch mit der israelisch-deutschen Schriftstellerin Lea Fleischmann
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Gespräch mit der israelisch-deutschen Schriftstellerin Lea Fleischmann
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The aim of this paper is to answer some questions concerning the identity of the maskilim of Romania, mainly those of the second generation, called "the generation of 1878" or "the generation of the Congress of Berlin". They called themselves "Romanian Israelites," similarly to the maskilim of other countries, just like the "French Israelites," "German Israelites," "Russian Israelites," and so on. What was it that defined their Jewish identity and what their Romanian one? When did this "Romanian Israelite" identity appear? Under what conditions did the new kind of maskil of the "generation of 1878" emerge, and why did these maskilim struggle for emancipation? Did this identification influence the Romanian Jewish community on issues other than emancipation as well? In fact, the "Romanian Israelite" identity appeared with the maskilim of the first generation of Moldavia and Wallachia, in the fifth decade of the 19th century, under the double influence of the Haskalah ideology and the national-cultural Romanian Renaissance. The refusal of the succeeding Romanian governments to naturalize the Jews gave an impetus to the maskilim to fight for emancipation, mainly after the 1878 Berlin Congress. In their polemics related to Romanian citizenship, they used various arguments to demonstrate that the Jewish presence in Romania dated back to ancient times, that they were descendants of Jews who had lived on these lands from the antiquity and the middle ages. They also tried to convince the entire Jewish community to accept the "Romanian Israelite identity" and apply for individual naturalization. They promoted the idea of a double identity, Jewish ("Israelite") from the viewpoint of religion and ethnicity, and Romanian from that of nationality
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This article discusses human free will from the perspective of three Jewish thinkers of the Middle-ages: Maimonides, Gersonides and Solomon Ben Adret. We commence with understanding the parameters of free will in Jewish thought and then discuss the theological problem of all religionists in the middle –ages, namely, God's prescience and the possibility of human free will. We discuss as well the idea of Divine knowledge of the present and the future from the perspective of the rationalist and kabbalist.
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There is an ongoing right-wing populist revolution in Western democratic societies. Revolution is by definition a period of upheaval. The premise of this paper is that the right-wing populist regimes try to find a level of stability by doubling down on the antiestablishment resentment, authoritarianism and nativism which characterize them. This is achieved through the manipulation of collective identity and collective memory. The present paper analyses the manner in which populist politics are validated, maintained and reinforced by modifying collective memory. For the purpose of this paper, collective memory will be considered as a group identity narrative, a consensual convention which allows for the integration of recalled events in a manner consistent with it and the rejection of events not consistent with it. The increased emphasis on nationalism affects both collective identity and collective memory, leading to the repositioning of the Overton window and causing the re-emergence of previously unacceptable antisemitic attitudes. The present revival of antisemitism is seen as the necessary consequence of the changes caused by the shift toward right-wing populism and authoritarianism.
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Modern anti-Semitism is not just one problem among many. This is because the extent of the phenomenon reached unimaginable heights in the interwar period, with discriminatory political measures and violence against Jews, deportations, and extermination among the many consequences of this hostile attitude. Under these circumstances, in this paper I analyze how the anti-Jewish atmosphere also affected the discussions in the Romanian Parliament in the 1930s, with an intensification of unparliamentary behavior, turbulent sessions and frequent insults. The polemic on this subject between the MPs Petre Andrei and A. C. Cuza is the focus of attention, with the former's opposition to any extremism and promotion of non-violence, and the latter's exacerbated nationalism and aggressive language.
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Review of: B. Brilling - H. Richtering: Westfalia Judaica, I. Stuttgart – Berlin – Köln - Mainz. W. Kohlhammer Verlag. 1987. 239 S.
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The increase in cases of anti-Semitic incidents in the world after October 7, 2023 is a hard-to-understand reality given the notorious atrocity of the Hamas attack. Observations from the field, from the spot, which indicate a shocking picture, and would require a corresponding response in any corner of the world, come to delegitimize an incomprehensible trend that blames Israel for deciding to release its citizens and eliminate a terrorist organization. This study makes a foray into the exponential increase (600%) in the large number of anti-Semitic incidents that have taken place in the most powerful Western countries – Great Britain, the United States of America, Germany or France. The research also refers to a field visit to some of the places where the massacres produced by the Hamas attack took place.
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Often the issue of anti-Semitism is treated partisanly and even with a certain intensity of feeling, which is not helpful to anyone, because analyses lacking objectivity discredit both the cause and its authors. Although it is a subject that arouses a lot of susceptibility, it is possible to treat any anti-anything objectively, especially from a geopolitical perspective. The Middle East map and the tumultuous history of the region offer many keys to understanding the present, but also the perspective of the many leaders who have been involved in the political organisation and systematization of the area short-sightedness. It is necessary today to learn from the geopolitics of the Middle East' lessons, so that in a time of unrest we do not add yet another reason for the problems to expand. The text proposed here tries in an abbreviated form to outline some of the geopolitical lines to follow in the debate on a topic that is not yet intended to be analysed objectively by most of interested people.
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The article aims to analyze the challenges the authorities will have to deal with in 2024 in terms of fighting anti-Semitism and promoting Jewish life. Building upon the progress Romania has already made in this area and taking into account the impact that extremism will have on the outcome of this year's four rounds of elections, the article has focused on developments in three sectors - Holocaust education, preservation of Holocaust memory and collaboration with local public authorities to combat anti-Semitism. At the same time, the analysis considered the European and international context, marked by a sharp increase in anti-Semitism, especially after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, but also by the surge of extremism. In this context, if the already developed tools are not adjusted to the new social and economic realities and if authorities do not react promptly to condemn anti-Semitic acts, Holocaust denial and distortion, radicalization, and hate speech, there is a risk that the progress Romania has made in this field to be jeopardized. Therefore, 2024 is a crucial year for Romanian democracy. To effectively combat the toxic currents endangering society, a tremendous degree of responsibility as well as firm actions from both authorities and citizens will be required.
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Hate speech means attacking, intimidating, humiliating, discrediting, hostile behaviour, or inciting violence against a person or a group of people on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, age, religion, social category, gender, disability, membership of a community. Online Hate Speech is associated with phenomena such as intolerance, discrimination, marginalization, and social exclusion of some people or entire groups by appealing to stereotypes, prejudices, extremist ideologies, denying historical facts or invoking personalities who have been convicted of crimes against humanity. The consequences of Hate Speech can be identified in all forms of manifestation of social polarization, violence of any kind, and social, political, and military conflicts. The present work represents a contribution to the definition of the concept of online hate speech and the problems associated with this phenomenon (actors, contexts and consequences), it inventories the international, European and Romanian governmental and non-governmental organizations with attributions in the countering of hate speech. The paper summarizes the theoretical and empirical research elaborated so far in the Romanian academic space, concluding with the importance of using artificial intelligence (hate speech moderation algorithms, Big Data, Machine Learning, Application Programming Interface) to prevent and combat online hate content against jews (online antisemitism) or other groups.
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This study examines the social context surrounding the introduction of the mandatory school subject “History of the Jews. The Holocaust”, starting from the academic year 2023-2024. It delves into the reception of the new subject by history students and teachers in Ilfov County through questionnaire-based research. The implementation of this curriculum represents a significant educational shift, aiming to foster a deeper understanding of historical events and their societal impacts. By investigating both student and teacher perspectives, the study seeks to illuminate the effectiveness of the curriculum in engaging learners and facilitating meaningful discourse on sensitive historical topics. The findings of this research are valuable not only for educational policymakers but also for educators striving to enhance the quality of Holocaust education in schools. Understanding the dynamics of how this subject is received can inform future adjustments and improvements in Holocaust education curricula nationwide. Through thoughtful analysis and reflection, educators can better address the complexities of teaching such emotionally charged subjects and promote empathy, critical thinking, and historical literacy among students.
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This paper is a historical inquiry about Romanian Anti-Semitism starting with the second half of the Nineteenth century. Romanian Anti-Semitism has evolved during the Nineteenth century in the direction of the consolidation of the national conscience related to the Jewish population considered to be the extreme otherness. The Anti-Semitic consensus features the majority of the political elite so that the answer offered to the Jewish question shaped the ethnic definition of the nation. But the Romanian Anti-Semitism was not a local phenomenon with a political stake; it must be understood in Central and East-European frame. The Jewish question has been reshaped in the interwar period as part of the grand debate around national specificity. With arguments from the Nineteenth century and the spiritual Orthodox mystique the Anti-Semitic discourse has embraced not only by the intellectuals of the old generation: Nicolae Iorga, Alexandru C. Cuza, Octavian Goga, Nichifor Crainic, Nae Ionescu but also by the young generation intellectuals: Mircea Eliade, Emil Cioran, Mircea Vulcănescu, Constantin Noica.
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This paper represents an initial overview of Romanian constitutional documents that have tackled the theme of the national ideal and the status of Jews, by reflecting upon the historical realities that have impacted the indigenous space. Romanians and Jews, represent two international law themes, engaging in efforts to preserve and define their identity specificity within the realm of Europe's hegemonic changes. The emancipation process of these entities often interacted, both on the international and national levels, inducing tensions to the detriment of xenophobic roots of traditional values, tensions caused by mistrust towards both foreign and domestic others and the dangers associated with them. In this regard, antisemitism, in its chameleonic nature, could be transposed even into the sphere of fundamental legal acts under the pretext of completing the process of preserving Romanian identity, having practical applications in terms of granting political rights, with the main interest being the intangibility of property rights, considered as a component of state sovereignty.
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This is an attempt to underline the dimensions of a phenomenon, which has an exponential evolution in various media and reaches the center of the concerns of Romanian society. It follows the coagulation of interwar anti-Semitism from the synthesis of various clichés or prejudices. The conception and the role of some important personalities, leaders of the opinion, A. C. Cuza, Nicolae Paulescu, Zelea Codreanu, Octavian Goga are analyzed. Some specific concepts are proposed, such as continuous pogrom, elimination of Jews, romanization of the economies etc. The emergence of anti-Semitism is followed through propaganda, legalization and physical violence (beatings, vadalizations, etc.). It draws attention to the migration of anti-Semitism into the political and social space.
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Anti-Semitism, through its forms of expression and the consequences produced, was and is an approach to exclusion that is legitimized by different arguments: racial, ethnic, cultural, political, economic, religious, etc. History shows us that anti-Semitism has deep roots in the history of humanity, it was found on all continents, in more or less radical forms, it had different promoters, but the result was the same: violence of all types, exercised on Jews. The emergence of modern Romania was inextricably linked to liberal nationalism. The adoption of this model was part of the attempt by the modernizing domestic elites to connect to the model promoted by the political regimes in Western Europe that were based on the fundamental values promoted by the French Revolution of 1789 and the European Revolution of Nations of 1848. Anti-Semitism was promoted by a part of the autochthonous intelligentsia throughout the history of the modern Romanian state. The Jews, for ethnic, religious and cultural reasons, were considered a foreign element in the national body. However, anti-Semitism was not the dominant concept in the political culture of the Romanian state, given that the political project of the local liberal elites was completed by the adoption of the 1923 Constitution. Post-war difficulties and external influences allowed anti-Semitism to develop in Romania. However, in the electoral plan, where citizens with the right to vote express their political will, they showed that the Christian National Party and the Iron Guard totalled almost 32% of the total votes, which represents less than 1/3. In addition, at the level of the speech promoted by the democratic intelligentsia, we find a very harsh criticism of the anti-Semitic speech. These elements demonstrate that within the Romanian state there were mechanisms that limited the impact of anti-Semitic movements, their success was represented by the application of anti-Semitic legislation and was achieved only under the conditions of the imposition of the "Carlist dictatorship".
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Între august 1944 și decembrie 1947, România a trecut de la dictatura lui Antonescu la un stat controlat de comuniști. Acest articol explorează situația comunității evreiești în perioada de consolidare a puterii de către forțele comuniste. Mai exact, folosind o varietate de surse, de la documente de arhivă la broșuri publicate în acea perioadă, textul subliniază persistența antisemitismului în țară, atât la bază, cât și la nivel politic. În același timp, articolul analizează atitudinea comuniștilor față de evrei în timpul proceselor criminalilor de război, argumentând că crimele împotriva populației evreiești au fost parțial excluse din narațiunea generală. Mai mult, în timpul proceselor, discursul s-a concentrat pe lupta antifascistă a comuniștilor, victimele evreiești fiind uneori reprezentate ca fiind comuniști sau antifasciști.
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Trying to answer a question that might seem redundant to some of us – „why do anti-Semitic manifestations persist in Romanian society even after the mass emigration of Jews?” – this essay proposes a hypothesis according to which anti-Semitic manifestations appear and are maintained, mainly, through the joint action of two major psychocultural diseases: the syndrome of captive thinking and the absence of a culture of recognition. In support of this hypothesis, the pragmatic-discursive scenario designed at the confluence of applied philosophy, cognitive psychology and cultural studies is a personalized reflexive approach with autobiographical echoes that reveal, from the perspective of common sense morality, how absurd is any manifestation of anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobic nationalism and theocratic fundamentalism maintained by captive thinking syndrome and the absence of a culture of recognition.
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Interview with Dan Pavel by Sorin BOCANCEA
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The 2024 Taiwanese presidential elections emerged as a pivotal moment in the global political landscape, with implications for domestic governance and regional stability. This article explores the electoral process, key contenders, and electoral issues, specifically how Taiwan held the election against China’s interference and completed it successfully. It offers insights into the dynamics of the 2024 elections, shedding light on their implications for Taiwan’s future trajectory. In the end, it articulates the importance of promoting Taiwan-Romania economic cooperation by pointing out various areas for both sides to further explore. Taiwan will continue to stand at the frontline of democracy for regional stability.
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Progresele din domeniul tehnologiei au condus la numeroase oportunități de creștere. Cu toate acestea, există și pericole care trebuie luate în considerare, cum ar fi proliferarea armelor de distrugere în masă, noi forme de război, pierderea confidențialității și așa mai departe. Acest document explorează interacțiunea dintre progresul tehnologiei, în special al inteligenței artificiale, și principiile fundamentale ale democrației. Având în vedere schimbările atât de rapide ale abilităților tehnologiei, este esențial să se studieze impactul acesteia asupra societăților democratice. Astfel, vor fi abordați factori precum dezinformarea; prejudecata algoritmică; exacerbarea inegalităților existente; și o creștere a populismului pentru a vedea impactul asupra alegerilor și a altor procese democratice. De asemenea, trebuie luate în considerare și aspectele pozitive, cum ar fi creșterea transparenței, o creștere a participării politice datorită accesibilității; și elaborarea de politici mai bine direcționate și mai eficiente.Pericolele reprezentate de tehnologie și, în special, de inteligența artificială evidențiază necesitatea unor cadre de reglementare solide și a unor considerente etice pentru a putea utiliza beneficiile acesteia, promovând în același timp principiile democratice.
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