January 21, 2020, 11:00 a.m.
Great Synagogue, Bucharest
Good Morning,
Distinguished guests, your excellencies, President Vainer, Paul Schwartz, and Iancu Ţuckerman.
It is an honor to join you here this morning to commemorate the victims of the vicious Bucharest Pogrom of 1941 carried out by the Legionnaire Movement. I join you all in our common commitment to remember this past, to understand how such a thing happened, and to make sure it can never happen again. We can never forget.
It deeply saddens me that violent anti-Semitism not only still occurs today, nearly eighty years later, but is even on the rise throughout the world. This is unacceptable, and it is the challenge of every citizen, of every nation, to reverse this ugly trend.
I plan to work closely with Romania’s Jewish communities, organizations like the Elie Wiesel Institute, and all of our allies in the government and civil society to combat anti-Semitism. I am hopeful that projects like the new Museum of Jewish History and the Holocaust will have a deep impact on future generations, giving them the tools to better understand the past so they can intelligently create a better future.
As we begin the second decade of the 21st century President Trump, the American people, and I are committed to support Romania to make this the year of the modern Romanian Renaissance. We will help Romania become a European and global leader in the arts, sciences, and industry. We will help Romania reassert its role as a leader in religious freedom and human rights. We cannot go back, we have to move forward. We will work with President Iohannis and the government of Prime Minister Orban to protect and advance the interests of all Romanians, especially minorities.
I look forward to meeting those of you that I haven’t met yet and to continuing the discussions I’ve already begun with those I have. I look forward to working with all of you, as partners and teachers in our shared mission. Together we can make a world where something like the Bucharest Pogrom could never happen again. May god bless you, the people of Romania and the U.S.
Thank you
