ICJP condemns anti-Jewish Christmas carol broadcast on Romanian state TV

Jewish groups, Romanian politicians and the embassy of Israel and the United States in Bucharest have strongly condemned Romania's state-owned TVR broadcaster for broadcasting songs by a choir which sang 'Christmas carols' which celebrate the burning of Jews.

US Congressman Eliot L. Engel, the chairman of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians (ICJP), declared: “I was deeply offended by the broadcast of an anti-Semitic Christmas carol on Romania state television. This offensive language reminded me of the darkest days of European anti-Semitism when such overt and bigoted expressions of hate were commonplace. That a television station would not hesitate to broadcast such a vile and hate-filled public display is quite disturbing.”

TVR3 broadcast the performance of a folk group from the city of Cluj last week. As part of their set, they sang a carol that glorified the Holocaust and called for Jews to be burned on the chimney. The lyrics of the song were riddled with the repeated use of an offensive anti-Semitic slur and an apparent call to violence: “The kikes, damn kikes, Holy God would not leave the kike alive, neither in heaven nor on earth, only in the chimney as smoke, this is what the kike is good for, to make kike smoke through the chimney on the street.”

TVR officials moved to distance themselves from the song, with one stating they did not have any say in the choice of the carol. The TVR 3 show included a broadcast from the regional TV station TVR Cluj, and the media company’s officials said they want to set themselves apart from such manifestations, adding the carol choice had been made locally in Cluj.

Romania's foreign minister and other government officials condemned the broadcasting of the carol, and the station was handed a fine of US$ 15,000.

“While we commend the Romanian Foreign Ministry for its condemnation of this deeply unfortunate event, this broadcast should serve to remind us all that anti-Semitism in Romania and elsewhere in Europe still remains an all too common occurrence," Engel said in a statement released Friday.