Jewish Life January 20, 2005

In 1965, Nicolae Ceausescu began his long and infamous reign as president of Romania. One of the first things he learned upon assuming office was how to trade Jews to Israel. But the Romanian dictator soon found the system to be inefficient. He ordered the Romanian secret service to shift gears from the “ancient age of barter” to “modern foreign trade.” He also cut out the middleman, Jacober, and decided to do business directly with Shaike Dan of the Israeli government. “I want cold dollars,” he said.

Ceausescu directed that “Bucharest would be paid in cash a certain amount per head, depending on age, education, profession, employment and family status, for each Jew allowed to emigrate.

Marcu and Dan met monthly at Romanian embassies in West Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Marcu brought lists of Jews approved for emigration. Dan brought suitcases full of American dollars. General Pacepa writes, “In 1978 the payment amounted to between $2,000 and $5,000 per person. Although Israeli authorities generally paid $2,000 for each Jew who emigrated from Romania to Israel, Romanian authorities asked for as much as $250,000 in ‘special cases’.

(In one episode, worthy of “The Pink Panther,” an Israelis agent traveling with a suitcase stuffed with cash delivered his goods to his Romanian contact. The man, displeased with the delivery, looked at the suitcase and said: “Next time, bring Samsonite.”)

Romanians sold not only its Jews. Encouraged by the results in the Jewish trade, Ceausescu ordered his secret service to initiate a similar operation for ethnic Germans, whom he considered potentially even more lucrative. “Jews, Germans and oil are our best export commodities,” was Ceausescu’s estimation of Romania’s foreign trade in the mid-1970’s.

In addition to cash, Ceausescu obtained diplomatic clout by allowing Jews to emigrate. In August 1969, in a spectacular overture, President Nixon visited Romania. This was the first visit to a communist country by an American head of state since the 1945 Yalta Conference.

One of the main goals of Ceausescu’s foreign policy, for reasons of trade and prestige, was to obtain most favored nation status. But first, the U.S. congress had to grant it.

Ceausescu viewed Israel as the key that would unlock the American congress’ vault of support. When Israel’s foreign minister, Moshe Dayan, visited Bucharest in 1978, Ceausescu asked him to put in a good word with Washington for most favored nation status. Dayan replied, “I will talk to our ambassador in Washington, and I promise you, Mr. President, that we will do everything we can.”

Ethical Considerations

Israel purchased Jews from countries other that Romania. In the early 1950’s, Hungary was paid $1,000 per emigrant, and Bulgaria between $50 and $350. Between 1956 and 1961, Israel bribed Moroccan authorities in order to smuggle its Jews to Israel through Spain on forged passports. In 1971, Israel paid Saddam Hussein $1 million for the release of 1,246 Jews from Iraq. In the 1980’s, Israeli government agencies bribed Sudanese and Ethiopian authorities in order to smuggle Ethiopian Jews out of Ethiopia. Tens of millions of dollars were paid. But no country sold Jews to Israel as avariciously and for such and extended period of time as Romania.

The sale of Jews continued until 1989 when a coup overthrew Ceausescu and the dictator was executed by a firing squad. The Israeli most responsible for the massive Romanian emigration, Shaike Dan, reflected on his experience in the 1980’s: “True, [the immigration] was just a drop, but from a faucet that leaks all the time…It must be emphasized that today more than 380,000 Romanian Jews live in Israel.”

Shimon Peres held the same opinion. “I think that in terms of aliyah, immigration to Israel, this is the largest, most exciting, least known undertaking in the history of Israel…”

A high-ranking Israeli official recently commented that the agreements with Romania “worked out to the satisfaction of both sides.” This is only partially true. Israeli officials were always ill at ease over their deals with Romania. It boiled down to “buying slaves.” But in so doing, Israel was rescuing a community threatened by discrimination and economic and cultural extinction. At the same time, Israel was strengthened with new immigrants. In short, “Israel secretly engaged in the longest and most expensive ransom arrangement in recent history.”

A young Romanian historian, Marius Oprea, recently reflected, “The trade with human beings practiced by the Bucharest authorities is a page of the history of communism closely guarded from curious eyes.” It is also a page that Israeli authorities are reluctant to reveal. Yet, sooner or later, historical truth comes to light. In May 1997, the Romanian minister of foreign affairs, Adrian Severin, officially apologized on behalf of the Romanian government for “dishonorable bargains claiming substantial financial compensation for reunifying ethnic German families from Romania who wanted to settle in Germany.”

The Romanian government has so far not extended a similar apology to the government of Israel or the Romanian Jews it sold.

Radu loanid is author of The Ransom of the Jews, The Story of the Extraordinary Secret Bargain Between Romania and Israel With a Forward by Elie Wiesel, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, January 2005.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 20th, 2005 and is filed under history.