The National Audio-visual Council has fined the TVR 3 and TVR Cluj channels with RON 50,000 (approximately EUR 11,200) for airing a Christmas carol with anti-Semitic messages on December 6, when TVR 3 repositioned as a channel dedicated to the rural areas.
The United States Embassy has also sent an official statement condemning the broadcast of the anti-Semitic carol.
“The U.S. Embassy in Bucharest finds the December 6 broadcast of a so-called carol glorifying the Holocaust and violence against Jews an unacceptable display of anti-Semitism that must be condemned in the strongest, most unequivocal terms. Intolerance and hatred are unacceptable and should not be condoned, especially not through the medium of public broadcast. We commend Romanian officials’ condemnation of the broadcast, and call on all Romanians, private citizens and public officials alike, to reject racism and to repudiate those that would defend such acts as an acceptable expression of cultural identity.”
The TVR 3 and TVR Cluj channels also sent an official position after the fact, in which they “regret the incident” and “take a distance from such manifestations.”
Otilia Haraga