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Bulgarian Jews skipped an official ceremony marking 80 years since their rescue from the Nazis. Why?
(JTA) — Bulgaria’s president was on hand on Friday for a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the country’s dramatic decision to save its 48,000 Jews from the Nazis.
So were representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox church whose predecessors instigated the rescue, as well as a prominent Bulgarian-born Israeli historian and politician, Michael Bar Zohar, who published an early history of the episode, which was barely known until after the fall of communism.
Together they marched from Bulgaria’s national library — where an exhibition about Bulgaria’s World War II-era king, Tsar Boris III, is being held — to Sofia’s oldest church, where they lay flowers on a memorial to Boris and his wife, Tsarina Joanna.
But conspicuously absent from the ceremony with President Rumen Radev were any representatives of Bulgaria’s contemporary Jewish community,
Community leaders were invited only at the last possible minute, on Thursday afternoon, according to Alexander Oscar, president of Shalom The Organization of Bulgarian Jews. His group had already planned its own observance of March 10, known by Bulgarian Jews as “Day of Salvation.”
But Oscar said he would not have attended even if he’d been invited earlier — and he thought no one else from the local Jewish community would have either.
“Nobody from the community would have taken part in an event honoring the imaginary role of King Boris in rescuing the Bulgarian Jews and presenting a distorted history of the Holocaust,” Oscar told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Oscar’s comments point to a longstanding and increasingly potent dispute over how Tsar Boris III should factor into Bulgaria’s Holocaust memory. Though Boris did sign off on the order to halt the deportation of the country’s Jews, he was also the leader of a fascist government that allied with Nazi Germany, imposed oppressive racial laws on its Jews and facilitated the murder of more than 11,000 Jews in territory it occupied. Boris died under mysterious circumstances shortly after returning from Germany where he met with Hitler in 1943.
Bulgarian troops deported more than 11,000 Jews living in Western Thrace, Vardar, Macedonia and the town of Pirot in today’s Serbia to Nazi death camps, where almost all were murdered.
St. Sophia Church, where the president’s ceremony took place, is home to plaques honoring Tsar Boris III and his wife that briefly stood in Jerusalem’s Bulgarian Forest. The plaques were removed in 2000 after protests by Bulgarian Jews and their descendants who were uncomfortable with lionizing someone who oversaw the murder of Jews during the Holocaust.
Past “Day of Salvation” commemorations have not specifically exalted Boris. But the wartime leader is a favorite of Bulgaria’s far right and those who admire the country’s pre-communist governments, and his profile has only risen in recent years as Bulgaria, like many other countries, has experienced a strengthening of its right wing.
“What we choose to remember and what we choose to omit when telling our own story is a mark of wisdom, courage and dignity,” wrote Bulgarian Jewish journalist Emmy Barouh in an open letter to Radev before the commemoration event.
“There is no morality to be found in the sinister arithmetic that the lives of 50,000 were ‘paid for’ by the lives of 11,343,” Barouh wrote. “Skipping half of this sad ‘equation’ turns ‘80th anniversary of the rescue’ into another episode of political use of Bulgarian Jews.”
Immediately after the war, the Jewish population of Bulgaria was still about 50,000, its prewar level, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. But unlike in most communist countries, the government allowed Jews to emigrate in large numbers and in fact encouraged them to do so; the vast majority departed for Israel in the late 1940s. Today, the World Jewish Congress estimates the country’s Jewish population at between 2,000 and 6,000; the country recently saw the creation of a Jewish school in Sofia and a cultural center in the remains of a crumbling synagogue in the coastal city of Vidin.
The former sanctuary of the central synagogue in Vidin, Bulgaria, built in 1894, is today crumbling and missing a roof. (Jonah Goldman Kay)
Local Jewish leaders marked the anniversary in other ways. Earlier in the week, some traveled to Kavala, Greece, for a ceremony at the site where Bulgarian soldiers deported thousands of Jews to Treblinka in 1943. On Friday, they also held their own ceremony at a different monument in Sofia commemorating both the rescue and the murder of the Jews in Bulgarian-occupied regions. They were joined by public figures including Sofia’s mayor and Bulgaria’s foreign minister, Nikolay Milkov, and its prosecutor general.
Some Bulgarians had openly called for their country to pay greater homage to Tsar Boris III at this year’s March 10 commemorations. Daniela Gortcheva, a Dutch-Bulgarian right-wing media figure, circulated a petition calling for him to be recognized.
The petition asserted that leaving Boris out of the commemoration would be akin to what happened in the Macedonian city of Ohrid last year, when a Bulgarian cultural club named after Boris drew protests from those who noted that Boris’s government was responsible for the murder of thousands of Macedonian Jews.
That incident, the latest in a long-running conflict between the two Balkan nations over World War II history, rocketed Tsar Boris back into the national spotlight in Bulgaria and made his rehabilitation a focus of Bulgarian nationalists.
After Jewish groups rebuffed the petition, Gortcheva attacked her critics on Facebook as ungrateful “heirs of Communists,” “a fifth column of Moscow” and traitors — claims that Jewish leaders say echo antisemitic smears made against Jews in the past.
Shalom, Bulgarian Jewry’s leading organization, has filed a complaint against Gortcheva with Bulgaria’s prosecutor general — the same official who last month ruled that Bulgaria could bar a neo-Nazi march honoring a Nazi collaborator.
“Gortcheva — a great supporter of the Lukov march — has been persistently involved in the spread of Holocaust denial and distortion,” World Jewish Congress Executive Vice President Maram Stern said in a letter to Milkov. “She combines such statements with slanderous claims that the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria SHALOM and the Organization of the Bulgarian Jews in Israel are disloyal to Bulgaria.”
Following last week’s ceremonies, a group of Bulgarian scholars have circulated their own appeal this week, calling on Bulgarian leaders to acknowledge the deportations of Jews under the country’s rule during the Holocaust.
“Our state never tried to find the appropriate language to mark two inseparable and yet antipodal historical facts: the preserved life of the Jews from the prewar territories of Bulgaria and the deportation to Treblinka (4-29 March 1943) of those from the lands occupied in April 1941,” the appeal reads. “The Bulgarian state should acknowledge publicly, sincerely and unconditionally its responsibility by apologizing for the persecutions and deportations of Jews during World War II.”
“It is a matter of basic decency and tactfulness that emphasizing the salvation should be done by those who were saved and not by the savior,” the petition added. “Here, exactly the opposite occurs: Bulgarians are engaging in self-glorification and inviting the Jewish community to pay them eternal gratitude.”
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US Military: ‘Locked and Loaded’ to Strike Iran’s Power Plants, Energy Industry if Ordered
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a briefing on the Iran war, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, US, April 16, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
The US naval blockade of Iran is just an example of “polite” behavior during the ongoing ceasefire and US forces are ready to strike Iran’s power plants and energy industry if ordered, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday.
Standing alongside two of the US military‘s most senior officers, Hegseth said Iran needs to choose wisely as it prepares for negotiations with the United States.
“We are reloading with more power than ever before, and better intelligence,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news briefing. “We are locked and loaded on your critical dual-use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation, and on your energy industry. We’d rather not have to do it.”
President Donald Trump’s administration expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching a deal to end the Iran war, while also warning of increasing economic pressure against Iran if it remains defiant.
That has included a blockade of Iran that went into effect on Monday, with the US military forcing 14 ships to turn around. Dozens of US warships and aircraft, including about 10,000 military personnel, are enforcing the blockade.
Trump is hoping the effort will force Iran to accept US terms for ending the war, which was launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28, including opening up the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which roughly one fifth of global oil and gas exports ordinarily transits. Trump has said that was also a condition of the ceasefire due to expire next week.
The war has resulted in a major disruption of global oil and gas supplies.
Analysts have said that Iran can withstand a complete halt in oil exports of up to two months before being forced to curb production.
Hegseth, in comments aimed at the Iranian leadership, said that the blockade “is the polite way that this can go.”
READY TO RESUME OPERATIONS
Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said the military was adjusting tactics, techniques, and procedures, but he did not provide any details.
During the same briefing, General Dan Caine, chairman of the US military‘s Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that American forces are “ready to resume major combat operations at literally a moment’s notice.”
US Navy ships would pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran, Caine told the briefing. He added that could take place not just in the region, but also the Indo-Pacific.
Ships trying to break the blockade would be intercepted and warned that “if you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” and enforcement would occur inside Iran’s territorial seas and in international waters, Caine said.
No ships have been boarded so far, Caine said.
The US military has widened its blockade to include cargoes deemed contraband, and any vessels suspected of trying to reach Iranian territory will be “subject to belligerent right to visit and search,” the US Navy said in an advisory on Thursday.
“These vessels, regardless of location, are subject to visit, board, search, and seizure,” the Navy said in an updated advisory.
Contraband items listed included weapons, weapons systems, ammunition, nuclear materials, crude, and refined oil products as well as iron, steel and aluminum.
Sources briefed by Tehran have told Reuters that Iran could let ships sail freely through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack under proposals it has offered in talks with the US, providing a deal is clinched to prevent renewed conflict.
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Trump Says Lebanon and Israel Have Reached 10-Day Ceasefire
Smoke rises following an airstrike in Lebanon, as seen from Israeli side of the border, April 11, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5 pm EST (2100 GMT), signaling a pause in Israel‘s conflict with Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah that has raged in parallel to the war with Iran.
A US official said the ceasefire would start on Thursday.
After announcing the deal on social media, Trump told reporters that leaders of the two countries could meet at the White House over the next week or two.
“It’s very exciting. I think we’re going to have a deal where we’re going to have a meeting, first time in 44 years, and Lebanon will be meeting with Israel, and they’re probably going to do it at the White House over the next week or two,” Trump said, adding that he spoke with both leaders as the ceasefire was announced and was working on a longer term deal.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry had earlier said that peace in Lebanon was essential for talks it is mediating to end the war between the United States and Iran.
Trump said he had held excellent conversations with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An Israeli cabinet source said Netanyahu’s security cabinet had convened for an urgent discussion on the Lebanon ceasefire.
An Israeli security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Israeli military had no plans to withdraw forces from southern Lebanon during a ceasefire.
In its first comment after Trump‘s announcement, Hezbollah said any ceasefire must not allow Israel freedom of movement within Lebanon. In a statement issued by its media office, the terrorist group said the presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory granted Lebanon and its people the “right to resist.”
‘BUFFER ZONE’
Lebanon was dragged into the war in the Middle East on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon just 15 months after the last major conflict between the Shi’ite Islamist group and Israel.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since March 2 and forced more than 1.2 million to flee, Lebanese authorities say. Most of those killed have been Hezbollah terrorists, according to Israeli tallies. Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians, while 13 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March 2, Israel says.
Israeli forces have entered areas of southern Lebanon and vowed to maintain control over territory extending all the way to the Litani River, which meets the Mediterranean some 30 km (20 miles) north of Israel‘s border. Israel ordered residents out of the area south of the Litani during the war.
Israeli troops have since destroyed Lebanese villages in the area, saying their aim is to create a “buffer zone” to protect northern Israeli towns from Hezbollah attacks.
Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, speaking to Reuters minutes before Trump‘s announcement, said the group had been informed by Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon that a ceasefire could begin on Thursday evening. After the announcement, he said it would be for 10 days.
Asked if Hezbollah would commit to the truce, Fadlallah said everything depended on Israel halting all forms of hostilities, and credited Iran’s diplomatic efforts for the possible ceasefire.
BEIRUT AT ODDS WITH HEZBOLLAH
The Lebanese government has been sharply at odds with Hezbollah over its decision to enter the war, having spent the last year seeking to secure the peaceful disarmament of the group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982.
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held rare talks in Washington on Tuesday, despite objections from Hezbollah.
Trump said he had directed US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work with the two countries to achieve lasting peace. “Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
In another social media post, Trump said he would be inviting Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House for “meaningful talks” between the two countries, which have remained in an official state of war since Israel was established in 1948.
Trump had earlier said that Lebanese and Israeli leaders would speak on Thursday for the first time in decades. However, Lebanese officials said Aoun did not speak with Netanyahu on Thursday, and that Lebanon‘s US embassy had informed Washington he would not speak to him in the near future.
BATTLE FOR BORDER TOWN
Speaking to Reuters again after Trump‘s announcement, Hezbollah lawmaker Fadlallah said Lebanese displaced from the south should wait for the ceasefire to take hold and be extremely cautious in villages occupied by Israeli troops.
Fighting continued to rage in south Lebanon on Thursday, notably in the border town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold and strategic prize. A senior Lebanese official said Lebanon believed Israel wanted to secure a victory in Bint Jbeil before diplomatic progress could be made.
An Israeli strike destroyed the last bridge over the Litani River into the south, a senior Lebanese security source said, fully severing the area from the rest of the country after Israel destroyed other crossings during the war.
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Three Arrested After Attempted Arson at Persian-Language Media Office in London
A Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) car. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
British police said on Thursday they had arrested three people in connection with an attempted arson attack on the offices of a Persian-language media organization in northwest London, which followed two similar incidents in the British capital.
An ignited container was thrown toward the premises of the parent company of Iran International, Volant Media, on Wednesday evening, landing in a car park where the fire extinguished itself. No damage was reported and there were no injuries, the police said.
Two men, aged 19 and 21, and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life. The arson attempt was not being treated as terrorism, but counterterrorism officers were involved in the investigation, police said.
Iran International said a suspicious vehicle was denied entry to its London site shortly before incendiary devices were thrown into a nearby car park.
It said it viewed the incident in the context of “growing threats and intimidation” directed at the organization and its journalists.
The incident comes a day after police arrested two suspects following an attempted arson attack on a synagogue, also in north London.
JEWISH COMMUNITIES AND IRANIAN DIASPORA INCREASINGLY TARGETED, POLICE SAY
Last month, several ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola were set alight while parked near a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London.
Matt Jukes, a deputy commissioner for London’s Metropolitan Police, said in a statement on Thursday he understood why conflict overseas and heightened tensions in Britain would be “deeply worrying.”
“London’s Jewish communities and the Iranian diaspora in London have, in recent years, been increasingly targeted by individuals, groups, and hostile states intent on spreading fear, hate, and harm,” Jukes said.
British authorities have previously warned that there is a threat to journalists working for Persian-language outlets that are critical of Iran’s government. In 2024, a journalist working for the television news network Iran International was stabbed in the leg near his home in south London.
Britain’s MI5 spy boss said last October that his agency and British police had tracked more than 20 Iranian-backed plots to kidnap or kill British nationals or individuals based in Britain who were regarded by Tehran as a threat.
“We are dealing with an unprecedented level of national security investigations, some with suspected links to foreign states and many of those have dangerous and often reckless intentions,” Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, told reporters on Thursday.
She added that the incidents had taken place against a backdrop of “global instability within which we’re seeing sustained and increasing aggressive and hostile activity.”