B’nai B’rith Sofia accused the Simon Wiesenthal Center of legitimizing a European Parliament member it says is an ultranationalist, though other Bulgarian Jews say he’s kosher. More ▸
Four people connected to the vandalism of a synagogue in Bulgaria’s capital city reportedly were arrested. More ▸
Israel’s ambassador in Sofia asked Bulgarian authorities to ban the sale of Nazi memorabilia. More ▸
A Jewish group and a liberal party in Bulgaria protested an annual march to honor a general from the 1930s closely tied to the Third Reich. More ▸
Alexander Oscar, the 32-year-old president of Bulgaria’s largest Jewish community, can’t get an aliyah to the Torah in his hometown because he’s not halachically Jewish. In a campaign that mirrors others across Jewish Europe, Oscar is trying to bring more pluralism to a community that is nominally Orthodox but overwhelmingly secular in practice. More ▸
Today is the Day of the Salvation of the Bulgarian Jews and of the Victims of the Holocaust and of the Crimes Against Humanity. Under a bright cloudless sky, a crowd of about 150 gathered this morning opposite the National Assembly building in Sofia for a memorial ceremony. It was a highly choreographed affair: After… More ▸
Sorry for the lack of preamble, but here’s the deal: For the next two weeks or so I’ll be traipsing around Europe for JTA, my last jaunt before I sign off for the season (And no, I haven’t forgotten the R. Zalman video. Bear with me people.) I’m in Bulgaria. It wasn’t easy getting here…. More ▸
Watch
Listen to ‘Despacito,’ Justin Bieber and Luis Fonsi’s megahit song, in Hebrew