Dedication of Romanian Statue of Rabin a Ploy
New York, NY, January 16, 2004 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today condemned an extremist Romanian politician's dedication of a statue of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, calling it "a cynical ploy for international legitimacy by a figure with a long history of anti-Semitism."
Corneliu Vadim Tudor, the president of the Romania Mare Party (Greater Romania Party), who is running for president, unveiled a statue of the late Prime Minister Rabin in Brasov.
"Corneliu Vadim Tudor and the Romania Mare have a long and entrenched history of anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, expressed through party newspaper and public statements," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "The Party and Mr. Tudor have long denied Romanian participation in the Nazis' final solution for the Jews, stating that there was no Holocaust in Romania.
"We hope for the day that Mr. Tudor and the Romania Mare Party denounce anti-Semitism and acknowledge Romanian complicity in the Holocaust. Unfortunately, nothing Mr. Tudor or the Party has done indicates that day is approaching. The unveiling of a statue to the late Prime Minister Rabin can only be seen as a cynical and insincere ploy for international legitimacy and must be recognized as such by Romanians and by friends of Romania."
For more information on the situation in Romania, see Anti-Semitism in Romania
The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.
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