Ekaterina Zaharieva Receives Delegation from State of Israel for 75th Anniversary of Saving of Bulgarian Jews
08 March 2018 News
“The Bulgarian authorities are taking the necessary measures for the prevention of all forms of intolerance, xenophobia and discrimination. You can rely on us,” Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva said, receiving a delegation from the State of Israel which arrived for observances of the 75th anniversary of the saving of the Bulgarian Jews.
The Bulgarian Minister pointed out that our country is actively fighting hate speech. “Bulgaria was the fifth country to adopt a working definition and to designate a National Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism. Deputy Minister Georgiev is very active in this respect,” Zaharieva pointed out. She expressed regret that, similar to other countries, in Bulgaria, too, sporadic displays of anti-Semitism occur, but they are the work of isolated and fringe elements of Bulgarian society.
Zaharieva also dwelt on the close historic ties between Bulgaria and the State of Israel. She recalled that the two peoples mark two important anniversaries in 2018: 75 years since the saving of the Bulgarian Jews and 70 years since the establishment of the State of Israel. The Bulgarian Minister stressed that our country is proud of the fact that our people succeeded in saving the Bulgarian Jews in the territory of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from deportation during World War II. Unfortunately, nearly 11,000 Jews from Thrace and Macedonia did not share the destiny of their brothers and sisters from the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
The Minister pointed out that, along with official political relations between the two countries, direct contacts between the two peoples are also making progress. Minister Zaharieva stressed the steady increase in the number of Israeli tourists visiting our country. “Bulgaria and Israel now maintain close ties of friendship, but I would very much like to see more vigorous economic relations between the two countries. A very substantial potential for this is available, and we must work even harder to achieve this,” she said.
The delegation included the Chairman of the Israel-Bulgaria Friendship Group at the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) Eitan Broshi, members of the Bulgarian Jewish community in the country and chairpersons of Bulgarian associations in the State of Israel.
The Chairman of the Israel-Bulgaria Friendship Group at the Knesset and the rest of the delegation members expressed infinite gratitude to our country. They stressed that one of their main priorities is to pass the love for Bulgaria on to the young generation and to keep the memory of the heroic deed ever alive.
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