The only remaining synagogue in Sofia has been converted into a museum, it was reliably reported here today. The move was foreshadowed earlier this year when the Bulgarian Government asked Chief Rabbi Asher Hananel to petition the Government to close the synagogue because of alleged poor attendance at services.
Rabbi Hananel, who refused the Government’s request, has since been arrested for alleged dealings in gold and foreign currency and is in a prison hospital suffering from diabetes. His alleged accomplice, a Sofia dentist, who was detained for making teeth from illegal gold supposedly provided by Rabbi Hananel, has since been released.
A move is afoot, meanwhile, to rally church leaders and distinguished clerics to make representations to the Bulgarian Government on behalf of the 65-year-old Chief Rabbi who, for the past four months, has been detained incommunicable and without trial or formal charges.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
