The Bulgarian government has announced it will join the UK, Germany, Austria and Romania in adopting a working definition of anti-Semitism. The move was agreed upon last year at a conference of the Berlin-based International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
Deputy Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev was appointed to be the country’s National Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism.
The European Jewish Congress (EJC) welcomed the decision on Thursday in a statement sent to media.
“We are delighted that more and more European nations are adopting the official definition of antisemitism,” said European Jewish Congress President Dr. Moshe Kantor.
“It is vital that, especially as anti-Semitism is on the rise across the continent, governments, judiciaries and law enforcement agencies have all the necessary tools to combat hatred of Jews and other minorities.
Kantor expressed the hope that all European Union countries and others will eventually adopt the definition “so there is a continental standard and anti-Semites will know which lines they dare not cross.”
He added that the EJC also welcomes the appointment of Bulgaria’s deputy foreign minister as the new national coordinator on combating anti-Semitism.
Kantor said that Georgiev is “a long-time friend of the Jewish community” and added that European Jewry views his appointment as “a testament to the seriousness of the Bulgarian Government’s decision to fight antisemitism.”