Antisemitism in Romania

Sporadic antisemitic legislation existed in Wallachia and Moldavia, the predecessors of the Romanian state, since the settlement of Jews in the area. As a non-Christian people coming mostly from the Ottoman Empire (almost all Jews in Wallachia were Sephardi at the time), their allegiance was considered dubious. Nevertheless, their community was usually given a large amount of autonomy. The Russian-imposed quasi-constitutional document Regulamentul Organic demanded Jews to register with the local authority, specifying their occupation, so that the Jews who "cannot demonstrate their usefulness" could be identified and expelled. During the Wallachian Revolution of 1848, the Proclamation of Islaz demanded the emancipation of the Jews, but the eventual defeat of the revolution meant that its clauses were not applied. ==Pre-WWI Kingdom of Romania==

Citizenship When Romania was formed by the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, Jewish residents did not become citizens of the new state. Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza announced in 1865 a project which would lead to the "gradual emancipation of the people of Mosaic faith", however, all the plans were canceled as Cuza was deposed the following year. After Cuza was deposed, Article 7 of the 1866 Constitution of Romania did not allow non-Christians to become citizens of the United Principalities of Romania, so Jews could not become citizens unless they converted to Christianity. ==Interwar Romania==

Citizenship Several laws from 1919-1924 granted Jews in Romania Romanian citizenship, although the restrictive conditions excluded some from citizen rights. The effects of these laws were cancelled from 1936. In early 1938, the far-right Goga cabinet started a systematic "revision" of citizenship rights, which was continued by King Carol II after his coup of February 10, 1938. It left about 36% of the "revised" Jews without citizenship and, due to heavy taxes imposed on them, without access to work. The antisemitic laws of August 1940 did not distinguish any more between Jews with or without citizenship. The laws of August 1940 Already in June 1940, Jews had been banned from Carol II's single party. After the cession of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the USSR later that month, antisemitism was used to divert from this disaster. In July 1940, Carol II's regime issued a first definition of "Jew". On August 9, 1940, two antisemitic laws were published, which were based on the Hungarian and Italian law. The people whom the laws defined as "Jews" were divided into three categories. Most Jews lost their right to work in a series of professions. Jews were banned from non Jewish schools. Marriages between ethnic Romanians and Jews were forbidden. ==Antonescu government==