The Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom” and its partners from the Federation of Zionists in Bulgaria, the Organization of Friends of Israel in Bulgaria “Negev”, the Central Israelite Spiritual Council, and the office of the American Jewish Committee in Bulgaria are extremely concerned and alarmed by the emergence in Bulgaria of events that are designated as “forbidden for Zionists.”
We would like to remind that Zionism is a national liberation movement of the Jewish people, which emerged at the end of the 19th century with the aim of securing its right to self-determination in its historical homeland. It is not a racist ideology, but an expression of the same right to national existence that all peoples have, including the Bulgarian people.
Attempts to stigmatize or ban Zionism constitute discrimination against Jewish identity and beliefs. Equating Zionism with racism has been historically and legally refuted, and restricting people based on their support for the Jewish people’s right to self-determination falls within modern understandings of antisemitism.
We call on the institutions and society in Bulgaria to clearly uphold the principles of democracy, equality, and freedom of belief, and to not allow hate speech and division in our society.
