The Jewish Question: the Exclusion of Jews from Citizenship

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Chapter 7 The Jewish Question: the Exclusion of Jews from Citizenship

The exclusion of Jews from citizenship is the most relevant case study for the functioning of the constitutional nationalist regime. This chapter presents a comprehensive overview of the legal status of Jews during the emergence and consolidation of the Romanian nation-state (1859–1914).1 During this period, the Romanian authorities’ policies toward Jews were neither unitary nor stable and consistent, but differed according to the social position, ideological ori- entation, and regional affiliation of the actors involved in shaping its course. I identify three main stages in the process of excluding Jews from citizenship, which correspond to the main stages in the development of a unified national citizenship: namely the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859–1866); the first par- liamentary period up to the Congress of Berlin (1866–1878); and the period beginning with amendments to the Constitution, up to the outbreak of World War I (1879–1914). The first period (1859–1866) was characterized by the governmental policies of conditional Jewish emancipation. Following two failed attempts at the unconditional emancipation of Jews in the pre-1858 period (in 1848 and 1858), after the union of Moldavia and Wallachia, the two provincial governments proposed an offer for the conditional emancipation of indigenous Jews, while at the same time trying to end the immigration of foreign Jews. While the terms of the conditional emancipation offer were rather ambiguous, they neverthe- less invariably included demands for: (1) the reformation of the Mosaic religion and the Jewish communal institutions and identities; (2) the individual cultural assimilation of Jews into society as “Romanians of the Mosaic faith”; and (3) their social integration as “productive” elements. Closely supervised by the state, the internal reformation of Jewish communities between 1859 and 1864 was accompanied by a slight improvement in the legal situation of indigenous

1 On the legal status of Jews in Romania in this period, see mainly Analele Societății Istorice Iuliu Barasch (Bucharest: Tipo-Litografia E. Wiegand, 1887–1889); Elias Schwarzfeld, “The Jews of Roumania from the Earliest Times to the Present Day,” and “The Situation of the Jews in Roumania since the Treaty of Berlin,” in American Jewish Yearbook 3 (1901): 25–62, and 63–87; and William Oldson, A Providential Anti-Semitism. Nationalism and Polity in Nineteenth- Century Romania (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1991). For the most com- plete overview, using mainly foreign diplomatic sources, see Iancu, Jews in Romania.

Jews, and their selective integration as useful citizens at local level under the terms of the 1864 Communal Law. After 1864, the conditions for emancipation became tougher, allegedly in reaction to the Jewish communities’ lack of coop- eration and unwillingness to reform. While formally preserving their commit- ment to gradual emancipation, Romanian authorities conditioned it on Jews’ total assimilation and integration, as necessary preconditions for gaining full civil and political equality with Gentiles. This policy shift culminated in the mass denaturalization of indigenous Jews under the 1864 Civil Code and their potential access to naturalization as assimilated individuals. The second period (1866–1879) was marked by the Romanian state’s steady efforts to forcefully alter the social composition and cultural profile of the Jewish community prior to emancipation, accompanied by a firm anti- immigration offensive. At a time of internecine political confrontations over shaping the new political regime that followed the removal of Prince Cuza from power, the Jewish Question was placed at the heart of political life. The passionate political battles fought between proponents of unconditional Jewish emancipation and politicians advocating policies of “total closure” against Jews resulted in an uneven compromise over resuming the policy of conditional emancipation. Although the most radical advocates of “total closure” practices against Jews were temporarily defeated, their program shaped the terms of conditional emancipation. The Romanian authorities abandoned their previous concerns for the gradual improvement of Jews’ legal status, focusing instead on erecting anti-immigration barriers and on unilateral measures “from above” meant to alter the “character” of the Jewish communities. In addition, numerous laws further blurred the distinction between indigenous and foreign Jews—thus continuing a process initiated by the Civil Code—treating the entire Jewish population of the country as foreigners. This policy resulted in a legal regime of “duties without rights,” denounced both by Romanian Jews and the interna- tional community. The clash between the Romanian authorities and foreign advocates of Jewish emancipation led to the internationalization of Romania’s Jewish Question, marked by complex interaction and bargaining among mul- tiple state and non-state actors. This clash culminated with the external inter- vention in favor of Jews at the 1878 Congress of Berlin. During the third period (1879–1914), Romania’s policy toward its Jewish population took a decisive turn. If, until 1879, Jews were excluded from citizenship on the grounds that they were not sufficiently integrated into Romanian society, after 1879 Romanian authorities renounced their policy of assimilation and integration of the Jews, potentially leading to emancipation. Instead, Romanian legislation promoted a firm anti-assimilationist policy intended to