Romania is a regional model as regards owning up to the Holocaust and encouraging Holocaust research and education, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Tuesday at a meeting at the Victoria Palace of Government with Colette Avital, Secretary General of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the government informs in a release, according to Agerpres.

Nicolae Ciuca reaffirmed Romania’s staunch commitment to promoting the memory of the Holocaust and combating anti-Semitism, citing as examples in this regard the progress made in implementing the 2021-2023 National Strategy for the prevention and combat of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, radicalization and hate speech, as well as the sustained activity of the Interministerial Committee tasked with monitoring the implementation of the strategy.

Secretary General of the World Jewish Restitution Organization and Chairperson of the Center Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, Colette Avital, expressed her appreciation for Romania’s efforts to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, fight anti-Semitism and honor the memory of Holocaust victims.

Avital thanked the Prime Minister for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Romania and Israel on the grant of compensation allowances to Holocaust survivors who reside in the State of Israel and commended the activity of the National Property Restitution Authority as regards the restitution of Jewish properties, the release also says.

The resumption of the activity of the working group on the restitution of Jewish properties and pensions for Holocaust survivors, set up at the level of the government’s Secretariat General was also discussed at the meeting, with the sides agreeing that the group needs to be reactivated so that the restitution process is sped up.

Israel’s ambassador to Romania, Reuven Azar, was also present at the meeting, emphasizing on the occasion the quality of Romania – Israel bilateral relations and highlighting the potential for the development of economic relations, especially in the fields of energy, tourism and the food industry, the Executive’s release states.

Agerpres