Bulgaria: 2,000 torch-wielding nationalists march through Sofia to honor pro-Nazi general

Via Times of Israel:

Thousands of far-right activists held a torch-lit march through Bulgarian capital Sofia Saturday to honor a World War II general known for his anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi activities.

The annual Lukov March, staged by the far-right Bulgarian National Union, attracted some 2,000 dark-clad supporters who walked through downtown Sofia holding torches and Bulgarian flags and chanting nationalist slogans. A number of far-right activists from other countries also took part in the march.

It came despite strong condemnation by human rights groups, political parties and foreign embassies. The city mayor had banned the rally but organizers won a court order overturning the ban.

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Bulgaria: Synagogue in Sofia vandalized by stone-throwing incident

From Jerusalem Post:

The Great Prayer Hall of the Central Synagogue in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, was subjected to an attack in which stones were thrown through the temple windows by "unidentified assailants" on Saturday witnesses said, according to The Algemeiner.

Bulgaria and the its capital are no strangers to antisemitism and have even been subjected to other attacks over recent weeks, including graffiti depicting swastikas and an antisemitic slogan covering a monument meant to memorialize those who fell victim to the ruling Communist regime in Bulgaria during World War II.

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Bulgaria: Anti-Semitic symbols at Bulgaria football match

Via European Jewish Press:

The World Jewish Congress has strongly condemned the “disturbing and provocative” photographs that emerged in Bulgaria showing two boys at the Bulgarian Cup football finals with neo-Nazi symbols scrawled across their chests.

The incident has caused an outcry after pictures circulated online of the two boys, who appeared to be under 10, making the Nazi salute, at the Bulgarian Cup final between Levski Sofia and Slavia PFC in Sofia last Wednesday night.

The Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom” strongly condemned the incident. It has referred the matter to the National Co-ordinator against Anti-Semitism, Deputy Minister Georg Georgiev.

“It is unacceptable that young children should be encouraged to exhibit such behaviour,” Shalom said.

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Bulgaria: Israelis told to remove Western Wall photo at charity event

Via Israel Hayom:

Israel has filed an official complaint with Bulgaria after Israeli representatives at a charity fair in the country's capital were asked to remove a photograph of the Western Wall from their stall, which organizers claimed was offensive to Palestinians.

The incident occurred at a charity event hosted by the International Women's Club in Sofia, where various countries were represented. The incident began when representatives from the Israeli booth learned the Palestinian booth was displaying a map of Israel with the caption "Palestine," as well as posters calling for the United Kingdom to apologize for the Balfour Declaration, the 1917 declaration by the British government favoring the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish "national home."  

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Bulgaria: Vandalism at Jewish cemetery in Sofia points towards anti-Semitic act

Via The Sofia Globe:

In what looks like an anti-Semitic act of violence, unknown individuals have damaged graves at the Jewish Cemetery in Sofia. The latter is located on the premises of the Bulgarian capital’s Central Cemetery, towards the North of the city center. 

Photos taken by concerned visitors of the cemetery show knocked down gravestones and broken grave slabs. One photo shows a grave stone, which seems to have broken into at least three pieces, after it was thrown on a neighbouring grave.

The visitors who noticed the damage contacted Shalom, Bulgaria’s largest Jewish organisation. Shalom’s President Dr. Alek Oskar turned to Deputy Mayor Todor Chobanov, who is in charge of Sofia’s cemeteries.

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Bulgaria: Vandals scrawl anti-Israel graffiti on Bulgarian Jewish monument

Via JTA:

 

A monument put up by Jews in Bulgaria to thank the town of Vidin for preventing the deportation of its Jews during the Holocaust was vandalized. 

The Thanksgiving Monument, erected in 2003, was spray-painted with the words “Allah,” “Palestine,” “Hamas,” and the Islamic star and crescent moon symbol, the Shalom Organization of Jewish in Bulgaria said in a Facebook post Monday. 

The organization posted photos of the vandalism, which occurred Saturday, on its Facebook page.

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Europe’s listless pursuit of Hezbollah terrorists

From The Jerusalem Post (Benjamin Weinthal):

After murdering five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver in 2012, two Hezbollah operatives who were put on trial in absentia on Thursday at a Sofia court remain secure in Lebanon. The lethargy surrounding the efforts to capture the two mirrors the glacial-like pace of the trial. (...)

“Iran and Hezbollah were behind the Burgas bombing, just as they were responsible for the atrocities in Argentina. But in Europe, the fear of confronting both are daunting, as they have been for many years,” Prof. Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor and lecturer in political science at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. (...)

In sharp contrast to the vigorous pursuit of jihadists who executed scores of people in Paris and Bremen, political inertia, wittingly or unwittingly, has taken over Europe’s desire to capture the Hezbollah operatives believed to be responsible for Burgas. (...)

“They [Bulgaria and EU authorities] should do more, but I am skeptical of their willingness and their capacity to do so,” said Bali, adding they can “use the decision [2013 EU terrorist listing] as a reason to act. If someone wants to make the life of terrorists difficult, they can.” 

Bali said the distinction of Hezbollah into political and military wings is bogus. Steinberg, on a similar note, said, “Instead of isolating Hezbollah, the EU maintains the fiction of a ‘military wing,’ which is classified as a terrorist organization, and a separate ‘political wing,’ which continues to raise funds and build terrorist infrastructure. This is absurd.

“And regarding the Iranian regime, European hopes for lucrative business contracts take precedence over the ‘moral principles’ that ostensibly guide foreign policy. Until these fictions are confronted, the victims of terrorism and their families, including from the Burgas attack, will not see justice done,” added Steinberg. 

The US Senate and Congress have passed resolutions this year calling on Europe to outlaw all of Hezbollah.   In a March speech at AIPA C’s policy conference, Democratic candidate for president Hillary Clinton said, “And we must work closely with Israel and other partners to cut off the flow of money and arms from Iran to Hezbollah. If the Arab League can designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, surely it is time for our friends in Europe and the rest of the international community to do so as well and to do that now.” (...)

To judge by the 2013 classification of Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist entity – and the role of the US government in twisting the EU’s arm – the Trump administration will be the decisive factor in pushing the EU to outlaw all of the Iranian-backed Shi’ite Lebanese militia within its territory.

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Bulgaria: Scores defy ban to honor far-right WWII General Lukov

Via CFCA:

Sofia - Scores of people defied a ban to hold the annual torchlight procession to commemorate the WWII General Hristo Lukov who was known for being pro-Nazi and antisemitic in Sofia on Saturday. The 'Lukov March' was waking place for the thirteenth year in a row.

Bulgaria: Sports fans attack Israeli team during game

Via Jerusalem Post:

Ashdod SC players said they feared for their lives after being forced to run for cover from local fans in Bulgaria during Monday's so-called friendly match against CSKA Sofia.

(...)

Ashdod's players and coaches were lucky to escape with bruises, with coach Eyal Lachman being hit in the face by a glass bottle.

"From the start of the match they began throwing bottles at us and were singing anti-Semitic songs against Israel," said Ashdod striker Michael Ohana. "We prayed that we would be able to leave the stadium safely. You don't think about it when it happens, but there is no doubt that our lives were in real danger at that moment."

Bulgaria: “Death to Jews” on synagogue

Photo: fakti

An anti-Semitic slogan, “death to Jews”, along with a swastika were daubed on a fence outside Sofia Central Synagogue on June 4 2014, the day this year that celebration of Shavuot began, the Shalom Organisation of the Jews in Bulgaria said.

More: Sofia Globe

Bulgaria: "It's still not a crime to say this here, but we hate Jews"

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet checked out the situation of the right-wing in Bulgaria:

At the end of the article, the journalists asks the people at the HQ of the neo-Nazi National Resistance: "Is there anything we forgot to ask?"

A: "Yes. You forgot to ask what we think of the Jews."

Q: "Okay.  What do you think of them?"

A: "It's still not a crime to say this in Bulgaria, but we hate Jews."

Celebrating Hitler's birthday

April 20th was Hitler's 125 birthday, and in some places Nazis celebrated the event with swastikas.

In Bulgaria, a Nazi flag was raised over Sevlievo Municipality.  Swastikas were painted all over town.

In northern Sweden, a Nazi flag was raised over the municipality in Luleå and in nearby Piteå a "Heil Hitler" sign was hung up.  Similar vandalism occurred in town earlier this week.

Lithuania: Neo-Nazis marchers demand “Lithuania for Lithuanians"

This past Sunday, Lithuanian neo-Nazis marched in honor of Juozas Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis, the WWII Prime Minister who actively encouraged Lithuanian participation in the mass murder of Jews.

A day earlier a similar march was held in Bulgaria, this time honoring Gen. Hristo Lukov, a Nazi supporter.

Honoring Juozas Ambrazevicius-Brazaitis
Photo: DefendingHistory.com.

Although the demonstrators in this event, purposely held for the past six years on Lithuania’s Independence Day, have in the wake of our criticism of past marches desisted from expressing overt anti-Semitism, their deep animus against Jews is obvious to the discerning observer. Thus once again, among the leading and largest banners was one glorifying Juozas Ambrazevicius, the prime minister of a provisional government established by the Lithuanian Activist Front in Kaunas shortly after the Nazi invasion, which strongly supported the Third Reich and actively encouraged Lithuanian participation in the mass murder of Jews.

The adulation expressed for Ambrazevicius is hardly surprising, given the reburial of his remains in Kaunas with full national honors by the govenment in 2012, as if he were a heroic Righteous Among the Nations, rather than a war criminal. In that context, the most popular slogan of the marchers, “Lithuania for Lithuanians,” rings particularly ominous, as its implications are clearly exclusionary.

More: Jerusalem Post

Bulgaria: "What's wrong with that? Hitler is good"

Hitler and Nazi items are being sold in various tourist shops across Europe.

Nazi mugs on sale in Bulgarian store (Photo: Janna Kushnir)

On the final day of their five-day trip, the mother and son entered a gift shop in the town's main street and were surprised to find the mugs with swastikas and Hitler's picture offered for sale, stacked near cosmetic items and various trinkets.

Kushnir, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, asked the cashier if selling such items was not forbidden, to which she said the clerk had replied: "What's wrong with that? Hitler is good.

More: Ynet

Israeli journalist found the following Hitler poster hanging in a market in Budapest, Hungary.  The stand also had various Nazi emblems and insignia for sale. (news1)

Hitler poster in Budapest market, Yoav Limor

Tourists found the following in Tallinn, Estonia (Europe-Israel)

Nazi paraphernalia sold in tourist shop in Tallinn, Estonia

Bulgaria: How successive governments and the media are feeding conspiracy theories and anti-Semitism

It’s alarming that the reactions by authorities and the media to xenophobic outbursts on TV and radio stations are spineless at best, and that this kind of behaviour is not limited to Ataka and its supporters[vii]. When Misho Shamara (Misho-the-Smack), a rap singer who became the face of pro-government demonstrations, made a blatantly anti-Semitic comment on the nationwide TV7 calling former finance minister Simeon Dyankov “a worthless Jewish vermin”, the ruling Socialists not only did not react, but few days later they readily accepted a petition in support of their government brought to them by the same person.[viii]

More: BICSA

Bulgaria: Extremists join to create new Neo-Nazi party

Bulgarian extremists established Saturday a new party with the name "Nationalist Party of Bulgaria." It includes the formations National Resistance, the Bulgarian National-Radical Party, the local branch of neo-Nazi organization "Blood and Honor," and a number of informal groups.

More: novinite