The events that followed the tragedy of October 7, 2023, influenced our "Theodor Herzl" Center for Israeli Studies (CSIs) activities. The state of crisis forced us to reset our programs: we postponed an international debate about the Israeli media, among other academic events.
Nevertheless, at the beginning of December 2023, CSIs decided to focus on one of the issues causing concern: the explosion of anti-Semitism in the Euro-Atlantic area. We invited a number of personalities from academic life and media to be part of a volume. The brochure was dedicated primarily to our students, to draw attention to the worrying phenomenon that developed after the massacre of the Israeli population on October 7. The resurgence of anti-Semitism in the Euro-Atlantic world, because this phenomenon is what we are talking about, was analyzed by the CSIs team members together with a number of collaborators from the academic world and from the Romanian media. The volume called The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism in the Euro-Atlantic world after October 7 was discussed during a debate organized by CSIs at the end of last year. We decided that both our electronic volume and the debate should be in Romanian.

But because we want to share our concerns, related to this difficult moment, with our colleagues and friends outside Romania, we translated the articles (to be found below).
CSIs continue to follow both the unfolding of the events in Israel and Gaza, as well as the effects of the war in the Euro-Atlantic world. We are aware that ongoing events add new aspects to our analysis. Therefore, the Center proposes to continue our analysis and to organize new debates.

We use this electronic newsletter to present CSIs position after almost four months since the beginning of the crisis in the Middle East.
1. We consider that the right to security of the State of Israel is beyond any discussion and is the basis of any honest approach.
2. We condemn the terrorist organization Hamas and its atrocious acts against the civilian population of Israel.
3. At the same time, we condemn the lack of reaction of some segments of public opinion against these atrocities, unprecedented since the Holocaust.
4. We condemn the dissemination of fake news, with the aim of distorting the truth.
5. We believe that the only solution to the serious current crisis is a political solution based on the principle of two states in the area.
6. We condemn the attempt to ignore this principle by the current government of Israel, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is trying to evade a responsible internal debate about the future of the Gaza Strip.
7. We consider that some irresponsible statements by some Israeli ministers or deputies about a possible military permanence and about a reimplantation of the colonies are harmful for the future of the Israeli people.
8. We welcome the moral and military support of Israel's friends and especially the USA. In this context, the merit of the US president, Joe Biden, must be emphasized, perhaps the most pro-Israel American president.
9. We believe that the priority military and political objective of Israel must be the immediate release of the hostages. The achievement of this objective cannot be said to be an Israeli success.
10. We deplore the loss of human life among the Palestinian population and consider that the responsibility rests with the Hamas organization, which uses the civilian population as a human shield for the defense of terrorist structures.
11. We stand in solidarity with our friends and colleagues from the Israeli academia and we await the normalization of the situation in Israel.
12. We see in the conflict that started on October 7 a clash between the free world and the forces of darkness. For this reason, we believe that talking about an academic perspective is a distortion of reality. If being objective means a neutral vision between the world of democratic values and that of neo-fascism, we can calmly answer: We are not objective.
Each of these points can be a basis for academic debate, which we are ready to host!

Looking forward to your feedback.