The June 1941 Iasi Pogrom remains a deep scar on Romania's history and national conscience, a devastating consequence of antisemitism, intolerance and hatred directed against fellow human beings, President Nicusor Dan said in a message delivered on Sunday at a ceremony commemorating the victims of the Iasi Pogrom.

The message, presented by State Counsellor Vlad Ionescu during the ceremony at the Jewish Cemetery in Iasi, attended by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, paid tribute to the victims, the survivors and all those who had the courage to resist evil and save lives during 'times of moral darkness.' It added that their memory calls for constant vigilance and the daily defence of the values of humanity, dignity and peaceful coexistence.

'At the 85th anniversary of these atrocities, we have a duty to bow our heads before the memory of the victims and to reaffirm, with full responsibility, our commitment to historical truth. Commemoration is not only an act of remembrance, but also an expression of respect for human dignity and a guarantee that the lessons of the past will not be forgotten. The Iasi Pogrom was not only the tragedy of one community, but also a profound trauma for Romanian society as a whole. It reminds us how fragile the values of civilisation can become when prejudice, disinformation and hate speech replace respect for life and for our fellow human beings. History shows that evil does not begin with acts of extreme violence, but with the tolerance of discrimination, stereotypes and exclusion,' the president's message reads.

It also stresses that education remains the most effective safeguard against the recurrence of such tragedies.

'Young people must know the truth about the Holocaust and about the responsibilities that made these crimes possible. Only through knowledge, critical thinking and cultivating respect for diversity can we build a society resilient to manipulation, hatred and extremism. At the same time, we have a duty to preserve and promote places of remembrance, survivors' testimonies and the findings of historical research, so that future generations understand not only what happened, but also why such atrocities must never be allowed to happen again,' the message added.

The Romanian president also said the country had made significant progress in protecting human rights and strengthening legislation against antisemitism.

'Romania has made significant progress both in protecting human rights, by strengthening its legal and institutional mechanisms and aligning them with European standards, and in developing a solid legislative framework to combat antisemitism, racism, xenophobia and hate speech. These achievements do not bring the process of remembrance to an end; rather, they continue it, demonstrating the commitment of a democratic and mature society capable of confronting its past and turning its lessons into guiding principles for the future. Together, today in Iasi, we commit ourselves not to fall into the trap of the 'banality of evil', a concept formulated by Hannah Arendt, and to remain vigilant in the face of intolerance, discrimination and hatred,' Nicusor Dan's message said.

According to the president, 'the erosion of civic spirit and the abandonment of solidarity and compassion in the face of the radicalisation of public discourse' prompted one of the clearest witnesses of the era, writer Mihail Sebastian, to write in his Journal that 'the Iasi massacre is an obsession we cannot escape,' capturing 'the way violence was tolerated, encouraged and turned by the authorities of the time into a systematic policy of persecution against Jews.'

On Monday, Romanian President Nicusor Dan is due to receive Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Petronius Craiu; EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)