Herzog Marks 85th Anniversary of Iași Pogrom During Romania Visit, Warns of Rising Anti-Semitism
By The Media Line Staff
Israeli President Isaac Herzog commemorated the victims of the Iași pogrom on Sunday during a state ceremony in Romania marking 85 years since the massacre, urging renewed efforts to combat antisemitism while honoring thousands of Jews murdered there during the Holocaust.
The ceremony took place at the Iași Jewish cemetery in the presence of representatives of the Romanian government, the leadership of the city of Iași, and the local Jewish community. It opened with the recitation of Kaddish by the Chief Rabbi of Romania, Rabbi Rafael Shaffer. Herzog later participated in a reburial ceremony for the remains of 22 victims of the pogrom who were recently identified.
The event was held as part of the shared commitment of Israel and Romania to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and the history of Romanian Jewry.
“It is with humility and trepidation that I have come from Jerusalem, with the blessings of the nation of Israel, to stand here today, as President of the State of Israel, to meet this solemn duty of remembrance,” Herzog said.
He said remembering the victims could not erase the crimes committed during the pogrom or answer how such violence became possible in a city that had long been a center of Jewish life. Referring to the atrocities carried out between June 28 and July 6, 1941, Herzog said the only answer to how such cruelty occurred was “a deafening silence.”
Quoting Romanian-born Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, Herzog cited Wiesel’s description of the pogrom: “From the simple soldier to the high-ranking officer; from the anonymous employee, to the official invested with the high and implacable authority of the state, the Jews of Iași could not expect any trace of compassion or humanity.”
Herzog said the victims’ memory should serve as a call to build a better future rather than remain only a tribute to the past. He said it was an obligation to ensure future generations learned about the atrocities and visited the site.
The president also highlighted the historical ties between Romania and Israel, noting that Naftali Herz Imber wrote the first draft of what became Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah,” in Iași and that Romanian Jews helped establish some of Israel’s earliest communities, including Rosh Pina in 1882.
Warning that antisemitism was again increasing in parts of Europe, Herzog said, “The moral infrastructure that humanity established in response to the moral destruction of the Holocaust is weaker than it has been for eighty years.” He thanked Iași Mayor Mihai Chirica and Romania’s leadership for their efforts to preserve Holocaust memory and combat antisemitism, adding that he would address the Romanian parliament in Bucharest on Monday to recognize the friendship between the two countries.
Caption: President Herzog addressing the state ceremony in Romania marking 85 years since the Iași pogrom, June 28, 2026. (GPO/Kobi Gideon)
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