Israel Foreign Minister refutes reports of Israeli contacts with Romanian nationalist party

Tel Aviv [Israel], August 4 (ANI/TPS): Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen adamantly denied reports that Israeli officials have been in contact with the leaders of Romania’s right-wing nationalistic Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) Party. He dismissed rumors to that effect as “Fake news at its peak!”
Cohen declared that there have been no contacts between the Israeli embassy in Romania and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the AUR party. The Minister said this was due to, among other things, the statements of some of its members who glorify war criminals who committed crimes against Jews during the Holocaust.
“In recent months, the party leader has been making efforts to change the party’s approach towards the State of Israel and the Jewish world,” said Cohen, “which include statements about accepting responsibility from Romania for the Holocaust of the Jews in its territory during World War II, condemning anti-Semitism, defining the dictator Ion Antonescu (the dictator of Romania during World War II) as a war criminal and the importance of perpetuating the memory of the Holocaust. Following these statements, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Romania are examining, in coordination with various parties including Yad Vashem, whether this is a real change that will allow a change in policy regarding the party.” (ANI/TPS)