October 17, 2017 — Sofia
An AJC delegation has just concluded a three-day visit to Bulgaria.
The purpose was to meet with top-level Bulgarian leaders and to join Shalom Bulgaria, the Jewish communal organization, for its annual charity dinner, at which AJC CEO David Harris was a keynote speaker.
A highlight was receiving Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s confirmation that he will address the AJC Global Forum 2018 in Jerusalem, Israel, next June.
AJC had the opportunity for many productive meetings, including with President of the Republic Rumen Radev; Minister of Defense Krasimir Karakachanov; Minister of Interior Affairs Valentin Radev; Deputy Chairman of the ruling GERB party and head of the parliamentary group Tzvetan Tzvetanov; Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev and Yuri Sterk; U.S. Ambassador Eric Rubin; and Israeli Ambassador Irit Lillian.
Among the principal topics of discussion were: (i) the Bulgaria-U.S. relationship; (ii) the Bulgaria-Israel relationship; (iii) plans for Bulgaria’s EU presidency in the first half of 2018; (iv) the upcoming 75th anniversary of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews in 2018; and (v) the threat of extremism and antisemitism in the region and beyond, including the hope that Bulgaria would soon adopt the “working definition on antisemitism,” following the examples of several other European countries.
During the visit Harris also delivered a lecture entitled “U.S. Foreign Policy in the New Era: An American Jewish Perspective” to over 100 members of the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria, including U.S. and European diplomats. At the event, the Bulgarian edition of “Israel and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Brief Guide for the Perplexed” was released, the 14th language in which this AJC pamphlet has been translated.
Bulgaria has been a country of importance to AJC since the late 1980s, as communism began to crumble. During this time AJC saw the opportunity to engage with Bulgaria to expand the arc of democracy and to reconnect with a Jewish community that had been beyond reach for decades.
Underscoring this point, Ambassador Dan Fried, who served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2005 to 2009, commented on AJC’s role in the region: “The American Jewish Committee has been a leader in shaping ties between the American Jewish community and the newly-free nations of Central Europe after 1989, including their societies generally and their reemerging Jewish communities,” said Ambassador Fried. “On all the issues, including difficult ones, the AJC was present: honorable, energetic, and results-oriented. In a display of strategic wisdom the AJC invested in freedom and democracy in this region, knowing that Jewish communities flourish in freedom and are at risk from dictators. As part of this investment in freedom, the AJC was an early backer of NATO membership for Poland and other nations in Central Europe, an act of foresight, friendship, and principle, for which many remain grateful, including myself.”
Further reflecting on the Bulgarian-Jewish relationship, Harris said, “Bulgaria has demonstrated a unique and significant link with the Jewish people. Bulgaria heroically saved tens of thousands of Jews during World War II, and allowed its citizens to move to Israel following the war. Moreover, it served as a little-known meeting place in the 1980s for Jews in the Soviet Union and for Soviet Jews living in Israel to reunite with one another. Today, we are committed to advocating for the U.S.-Bulgaria relationship, while celebrating the strategic partnership that has developed between Bulgaria and Israel and the vibrant Jewish life that has reemerged in the country.”
The delegation included Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, the Paris-based director of AJC Europe, and Viktor Melamed, the recently-named AJC Honorary Representative in Bulgaria.
