During the
Cold War, Romania was the only communist country not to break its diplomatic relations with Israel. The two countries signed a trade agreement on 30 January 1971 during Israeli Minister of Agriculture visit to Bucharest. In May 1972,
Golda Meir was the first Israeli prime-minister to visit Romania. In 1984, the Romanian minister of tourism visited Israel. The Romanian foreign minister Ioan Totu arrived in January 1988 accompanied by his department director, Mielcioiu. The minister of foreign trade and international cooperation, Ioan Unger came with a Romanian delegation in October 1988.
Nicolae Ceaușescu's emissaries were sent for talks with Israeli leaders, though the head of state himself did not pay an official visit, claiming he would only do so when the Arab-Israeli conflict was resolved. In an article in the
Israel Journal for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Avi Millo described how, during his posting (1996-2001), he hosted many dignitaries including the then prime minister, Professor Radu Vasile, at his residence in Bucharest. He served traditional Jewish cuisine to his Romanian guests and used it to teach them about Israeli culture. These meals, he stressed, facilitated conversation, trust, and enhanced the relationship between Israel and Romania. In 2010,
Israeli President Shimon Peres visited Romania and met with several Romanian leaders, among them President
Traian Basescu, Senate leader
Mircea Geoana and House Speaker
Roberta Anastase. They discussed cooperation in the areas of defense, technology, education, business and tourism, and signed two agreements. In 2014, Romanian Prime Minister
Victor Ponta arrived in Israel and met with Israeli President
Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. In March 2016, Romanian President
Klaus Werner Iohannis arrived in Israel and met with Israeli President
Reuven Rivlin, Knesset Speaker
Yuli Edelstein, and other officials. They discussed terrorism, and Holocaust remembrance. In April 2018, Romania announced that it would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. On 17 October 2023, Romanian
social-democratic Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu was the first foreign leader to visit Israel after the
2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. In June 2024, a
Syrian man threw a
Molotov cocktail at the Israeli embassy in
Bucharest. There were no victims. == Trade ==