World Jewish News

Unknown individuals damage graves at the Jewish cemetery in Sofia

Unknown individuals have damaged graves at the Jewish cemetery in Sofia, the Bulgarian media reported.

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 and said that all necessary measures will be taken to discover the perpetrators, as well as their motive.

The minister also expressed “sincere regret” over the vandalism, noting that it comes ahead of the Jewish High Holidays.

“Bulgarian society is an example of tolerance, goodwill and respect among people of different ethnicity, religion and culture,” the Foreign Ministry said, according to the Sofia Globe. “Such actions are in complete contradiction with the moral choice of the Bulgarian society, which over the centuries has proved its worth in defense of the principles and values of humanism, tolerance, the rule of law.”

EJP