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While pro-European parties are trying their best to block Călin Georgescu from running in the presidential elections, citing reasons for which they have no evidence or have evidence that they have not yet presented, journalists avoid talking about one obvious thing: Călin Georgescu should not have been allowed to run if state institutions had applied the legislation on combating the promotion of the Legionary Movement, fascism and anti-Semitism and had sanctioned them according to the law.
In February 2022, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case against Călin Georgescu regarding certain statements made by him, which include anti-Semitic elements and promotion of the cult of the Legionary Movement and Ion Antonescu, but the prosecutors abandoned the criminal investigation, arguing that "the legal provisions that sanction the commission of hate crimes are insufficiently adapted to the factual realities, being of strict interpretation and limiting the situations for which criminal liability can occur", as shown in a press release issued by the Prosecutor General's Office after the elections of November 24, 2024.
Contrary to the Prosecutor's Office's justification, the Elie Wiesel Institute believes that the legislation in force is clear, but the central authorities do not apply it, although anti-Semitic manifestations increased during the period 2020-2024, for which the institute sent several notifications to various Prosecutor's Office departments.
After more than a year, since the receipt of the complaints at the Prosecutor's Office, either the criminal files are still in the in rem investigation stage (on the act), or the Elie Wiesel Institute has not received any response.
• Călin Georgescu, propagandist of the Legionary Movement
Călin Georgescu should not have been allowed to run because his notorious statements regarding the Legionary Movement, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and Ion Antonescu are criminal.
1. On June 23, 2020, Elena Sechila - the granddaughter of former legionnaire Gogu Puiu, interviewed Georgescu for the Facebook page "Asociatia "Gogu Puiu şi Haiducii Dobrogei". During the interview, Călin Georgescu talks about the "new nationalism", a patriotism that will be "worldwide".
In the interview cited, Călin Georgescu said: "In the new nationalism we talk about a patriotism on a global level, which is needed at these times. And the Legionary Movement, when the true history is written, because the true history has not yet been written, but it will be written, it will be shown that it was the strongest essence and expression of health and self-will coming from the Romanian people. It was unique. There was no copy made by anyone, regardless of what was said and regardless of what will be said against it. And even if this is not yet known, I want to draw the attention of these pseudo-historians and pseudo-cults who are in a hurry to throw mud that this expression of health is part of the history of the Romanian people. And today's manipulation was then. And even if the leader of the legionary movement, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, along with almost 17,000 commanders were removed then, it hurts me that this removal did not move anyone else in the country. Because this selflessness of the Legionary Movement demonstrated something that we see today: it was not enough to create a strong state and to transform a population into a people. Because no one moved when they were removed. Just as there are very few today, either out of misunderstanding or bad faith, for whom they do not move. But one, if he is upright, will carry forward this holy light of love for nation, estate and language. (...) The peaks of the Legionary Movement were the peaks of the Romanian intellectuality at that time, starting with Nae Ionescu, to name just one. But there were many others, like Mircea Vulcănescu, Gheorghe Manu, Petre Ţuţea, many others. Here all the intellectual force of Romania gathered. Why did they gather? Why were they removed?".
2. At the beginning of February 2022, Călin Georgescu, proposed to be named honorary president of the Alliance for the Unification of Romanians, declared on Antena 3 that the legionary leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and former Marshal Ion Antonescu did "good deeds too".
According to the cited source, Călin Georgescu said: "They all did good deeds and some less good deeds, but in general an authentic leader is the one who tells the truth and if you don't tell the truth you can't be a leader. History has been mystified and there are a lot of fabricated people (...). There were good deeds and deeds that I can't comment on, but historians must prove this. I can't have an opinion on martyrs, but they are from our history and they remain in our history. (...) Zelea Codreanu fought for the morality of the human being". Asked about the assassination of Arm and Călinescu and Nicolae Iorga at the order of the legionnaires, Călin Georgescu replied: "When history is mystified, you have nothing to discuss", and regarding the question about the Holocaust, he specified: "First of all, the Romanian people are not anti-anything in general".
• Clear criminal provisions, not applied by the Prosecutor General's Office
Regarding these latter statements, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal file on February 9, 2022, which it closed the same year, considering that the respective statements cannot be sanctioned according to the law on combating antisemitism.
However, the law to combat anti-Semitism is quite clear: according to Article 5 of OUG 31/2002, "the act of a person promoting, in public, the cult of persons guilty of committing crimes of genocide against humanity and war crimes, as well as the act of promoting, in public, fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic ideas, conceptions or doctrines, is punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 3 years and the prohibition of certain rights."
Article 6, point 1 of OUG 31/2002 establishes that "denying, contesting, approving, justifying or obviously minimizing, by any means, in public, the Holocaust or its effects is punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years or a fine", and in point 3 it states that "committing the acts provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 through an information system constitutes a crime and is punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 5 years".
The two articles above are clear and contain all the elements on the basis of which the statements made in recent years by Călin Georgescu can be considered contrary to the law and should attract his criminal liability.
Only the prosecutors of the General Prosecutor's Office do not believe this, although Călin Georgescu publicly promoted the Legionary Movement, praised Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as a hero and martyr, and praised Marshal Ion Antonescu (the one who was convicted of genocide against humanity and war crimes committed during World War II, a final, irrevocable sentence that remained the same even after the December 1989 Revolution). The prosecutors initially prepared a criminal file, in which we do not know whether Călin Georgescu was investigated or not (if he was investigated, then this happened mysteriously), but we know that the respective file resulted in a resolution not to initiate criminal prosecution or to close it, according to a press release issued by the General Prosecutor's Office.
The ordinance on combating the promotion of the Legionary Movement, fascism and anti-Semitism has no defect, no omission. The legal text, it is clear, has no weaknesses, but it cannot be stronger than the magistrates who apply it.
The problem is that of the over 250 criminal complaints received under the law by the General Prosecutor's Office in the last two years, none have been resolved favorably.
None!
The authorities choose to intervene only when they want to strike a blow below the belt, as in the case of Diana Sosoaca - a case of compliance with the law, but for electoral reasons.
• Surprise: Anti-Semitism - one of the faults of the Romanian people
Why are the provisions of OUG 31/2002 not applied?
Because, according to specialized measurements, surprisingly, we have a population with a large anti-Semitic reach.
According to the global index conducted by the Anti-Defamation League, based on a large study in which subjects had to answer a set of 11 clear questions, in 2015 in our country 47% of the population was anti-Semitic.
According to specialists from the Elie Wiesel Institute, the situation would be about the same, which seems to be an overly cautious estimate, because, in all respects, anti-Semitism has increased in the ten years that have passed since then.
Marius Cazan, a scientific researcher at the Elie Wiesel Institute told us, for BURSA readers: "Those at ADL Global have not made such an index for Romania since 2015, due to the very small number of Jews here. From 800,000 Jews in the interwar period, according to the last population census, which took place in 2021, there are officially a little over 3,100 Jews in Romania. However, we estimate that the current level of anti-Semitism is close to that observed in 2015".
From our point of view, it is possible that the level of this index has increased, if we take into account the fact that from 2015 to 2023 ADL Global calculated the index for several countries in our region, and the percentages show an increase in anti-Semitism for them of between 3% and 5%.
At the same time, during this period we have also faced an increase in anti-globalization demonstrations, which have exploded since the 2020 pandemic. Anti-globalization is often manifested through opposition to globalization, seen as a force that concentrates economic and political power in a small group of elites.
Or, in history, anti-semit ism has frequently used similar narratives, accusing Jews of controlling the world economy, governments, or other global structures. An example of this is the false conspiracy document - The Protocols of the Elders of Zion - which was used to suggest that Jews are plotting to control the world.
• The relationship between anti-globalism and anti-Semitism
Furthermore, in anti-globalization rhetoric, terms such as "global elites", "international bankers", or "global corporatism" are sometimes used as codes to allude to anti-Semitic stereotypes. This association arises from historical stereotypes that Jews are dominated by financial interests.
At the same time, some populist anti-globalization movements have integrated anti-Semitic narratives into their discourse, claiming that globalization is a plot orchestrated by Jewish "elites" to destroy nations, local cultures, and national identities. Recent examples include far-right figures or groups that combine anti-globalization rhetoric with attacks on influential Jewish figures, such as George Soros, who has often been portrayed in the past two decades as a symbol of evil globalization. In the same context, nationalist movements that criticize globalization as a threat to national sovereignty are more likely to adopt anti-Semitic rhetoric, using stereotypes of Jews as promoters of globalism.
In their criticism of institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, or some global corporations, nationalist or sovereignist leaders include anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
In recent years, anti-globalization movements have been stimulated by the war that the Russian Federation illegally launched in Ukraine, initially in the form of a special operation. If at the beginning of the special operation, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the Kiev government of fascism and Nazism, later - following the support of Ukraine by the USA, NATO and the European Union, he added an anti-globalist ideal to the war and thus secured sympathies and alliances, in which he is supported by anti-Semites in the Middle East, who perceive anti-globalism as a fight against Jewish supremacy in politics and business.
Although there are several scenarios according to which the masters of the world are the Jews, it is worth noting that, according to a study published by Oxfam on September 23, 2024, 1% of the world's population owns a wealth that totals more than the wealth owned by 95% of the global population.
According to the respective scenarios, this 1% should be made up of Jews, but, what do you see?!, Jews represent, in total, rich and poor, princes and beggars, only 0.17% of the world's population - according to a study prepared by the OSCE, which means that the rest of the very rich people up to that 1% represent other nations or ethnicities.
Continuing the reasoning, this 1% of the world's ultra-rich (about 80 million people), will not be able to include farmers, workers, craftsmen from Israel, or even ordinary millionaires, so that only a few hundred Jews will remain among those who concentrate the world's wealth.
The idea that Jews rule the world through the power of their wealth becomes, mathematically, ridiculous.
• Romanian anti-Semitism, stimulated by Dugin's visit organized in 2014 by Călin Georgescu
The anti-Semitism index in Romania was 47% in 2015, but ADL Global measurements show that it was 35% in 2014, which means that something happened the following year.
What is the domestic event that led to the increase in anti-Semitism in 2015 by 12% in Romania?
First, in February 2014, Russia occupied Crimea.
Then, two months after the occupation of Crimea, there was the visit of Aleksandr Dugin, Putin's ideologue, organized by Călin Georgescu, an ideologue who at that time met with several priests and other sympathizers of the Eurasian idea - the establishment of a supranational entity in Asia and Europe that would oppose American hegemony.
Dugin's contacts with church figures (it was said that he also met with IPS Teodosie, later proven to be an electoral agent of Călin Georgescu) encouraged the expansion of the circle of opponents of globalism and Europeanism, in favor of nationalism, possibly favorable to the legionary ideology and anti-Semitism.
The Romanian Orthodox Church has represented over time a very good means of disseminating certain ideologies, especially since it is known that among the ranks of the priests there are quite a few clerics who have legionary and anti-Semitic sympathies.
• The spread of "Georgism"
The war in Ukraine and the one in Israel fueled anti-Semitism, so that a large part of the population - probably around 50% - is anti-Semitic.
The authorities remained silent or opened criminal files that they closed, without initiating criminal prosecution or with dismissal.
A similar proportion of anti-Semitism - around 50% - is therefore found among magistrates, so we find a plausible explanation for their passivity in the face of anti-Semitic manifestations.
It is a sensitivity that Călin Georgescu has noticed.
Călin Georgescu's acolytes are multiplying, as the parties in power make mistakes, and they make mistakes daily, both in economics and taxation, and in politics.
In addition, the obstacles that have been placed on Georgescu are clearly undemocratic and justify his speech.
It is possible that, from the 2.19 million citizens who voted for Georgescu, his sympathizers have doubled (according to Nicuşor Dan's survey) or even close to 50%.
The current campaign to ridicule Călin Georgescu's statements (they are ridiculous) does not bother them, because the important thing is that the sympathizers of "Georgism" find themselves in a community with a common ideal that, at first glance, is bright: sovereignty.
If we don't enforce the law, of course, Călin Georgescu will become president.
And to enforce it now, maybe it's a bit late.
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