If not the Joint - short for the Joint Distribution Committee - the fate of the impoverished Jewish communities in Romania would have been much worse. Zvi Feine, JDC country director for Romania for 20 years, including during the terrible communist years, is sharing unique memories and testimonies about those times and the hard work of dealing with the bureaucratic restrictions and supervision of the communist regime on one side, and the local agenda of the representatives of the Jewish communities on the other side. Partnership, Challenges, and Transitions. Jewish Communal Service in Romania and Poland published by Gefen Publishing House has not only a historical value, but the experiences shared in over 600 pages are important as a guidance for any individual and organisation active in the field of Jewish communal work.
For a shorter amount of time - six years - Zvi Feine also took over the direction of JDC Poland and the experiences in mirror of the two countries are very diverse as we are dealing with different historical contexts and a completely different profile of the Jewish community.
JDC is the world's leaing Jewish humanitarian assistance organisation whose mission is to 'relieve hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide restoration and long-term develomnet support for victims of natural and man-made disasters'. Anti-Semitism was not specificially within the range of topics of JDC, therefore no wonder that this issue is barely addressed in the book.
The Joint's budget for the Romanian Jewish communits was the largest in Eastern Europe for the period between the late 1960s and early 1990s and the organisation continue to be active to these days. Romania had a relatively unique position within the Eastern block during the Cold War, as the only communist country that had maintained uninterrupted relations with Israel since 1949 (but also had a Palestinian 'embassy' while Ceaucescu was a good friend - mouth-to-mouth kisses kind of - to Arafat).
The fate of the Romanian Jewish community during communism is complex and hopefully one day there will be a honest historical investigation of it. Navigating the tensions and the dangers while guaranteeing the continuity of a community reduced at a great extent to its elderly was a complicated task. Some compromises were on the table but their impact and need thereof were hard to figure out on the spot. The late Rabbi Moses Rosen, for instance, helped the Socialist Romania to achieve the onst favored nation status from the US in 1967 in exchange for Ceaucescu's consent to legitimmize Jewish educational activities for the children in the local community. Corruption and bribery were often the easiest way to make your things done and besides the 'classical' packs of cigarettes Kent - the symbol of overall corruption in the communist and democractic Romania as well, local communists also had a taste for matza or kosher wine that they expected as an 'Easter present'.
But on the ground, in the local communities, the Joint had a tremendous work ahead: offering the proper medical and basic welfare assistance to the elderly or people living in abject poverty. It was one of the greatest mitzvot to help those people in need, regardless of their religious situation or affiliation.
Zvi Fein's book makes it a great collection of memories that will help, one day, to write the history of the Jewish community in Romania during communism and to better understand their survival, against all odds.
Rating: 4 stars
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