Andrei Oisteanu, Inventing the Jew: Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romania and Other Central-Eeast European Cultures

Excerpt

Romanian scholar Andrei Oisteanu is not only a fine historian of religions and expert in Romanian folklore, but also an active critical intellectual, opposing exclusionary ideologies and policies As this superbly documented book fully demonstrates, the avatars of nationalism and the appeals of xenophobia remain an enduring topic in Romanian and East European studies. In his introduction, noted Hebrew University professor Moshe Idel highlights the deep connections between popular anti-Semtitic stereotypes and some of the most influentially toxic texts of the Romanain inter-war extreme right, as well as their contemporary, post-communist transmogrifications. In other words, the topic of anti-Semitism has not vanished, in spite of the sharp demographic decline of Jews in Romania (most likely there are no more than 10,000 Jews in this country). It has remained an explosive issue, as proved by recurrent public debates regarding responsibilities for the Holocaust, the role of Fascist dictator Ion Antonescu, and the impact of Jewish communists during the country’s Stalinization (like in Poland and Hungary, there is an obsession, among far-right and far left alike, with “Zydokomuna”, Jewish Communism). …