Bulgaria Asked To Ban Sale of Nazi Mementoes
Israel’s ambassador in Sofia asked Bulgarian authorities to ban the sale of Nazi memorabilia.
Shaul Kamisa-Raz made the request in a letter to Bulgarian government officials with copies to mayors of major cities, the Sofia Globe news website reported Wednesday.
He asked whether there were legal ways to ban the sale and, if not, whether legislation banning it could be passed. “The topic of anti-Semitism should be studied in its historical context and the threats arising from this evil properly identified. We need to know what damage and what horrors can result, ” he said.
In an interview with the 24 Chassa daily newspaper earlier this week, Kamisa-Raz said that he had been alerted by an Israeli television station to the sale of drinking glasses embossed with swastikas.
The growth of far-right ideas and movements could reflect negatively on Bulgaria’s image abroad, he warned.
“It is gratifying, however, that in Bulgaria we see that society shows the power and ability to deal with these problems,” he added.
The far-right Ataka Party won 7 percent of the vote in last year’s general election. On Wednesday, following an illegal march by far-right activists in Sofia last week, the National Assembly adopted a declaration proposed by Speaker Mihail Mikov in connection with the escalation of tension on ethnic, religious and political grounds. The declaration, approved with 113 votes in favor and three against, said that Bulgaria’s National Assembly rejects and opposes: “All encroachments on religious houses of worship and violent desecration of them, along with unacceptable xenophobic messages.”
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
