The United States State Department annual International Religious Freedom for 2023 reflects concerns about rising antisemitism in Bulgaria.
The report notes that the Organisation of the Jews in Bulgaria Shalom repeatedly expressed concerns regarding escalating public hate speech and antisemitism, including on social networks, and offensive graffiti.
The report says that the US ambassador and other embassy officials held regular discussions with representatives of the MFA, the Council of Ministers’ Directorate for Religious Affairs, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, the judiciary, and local government administrations about cases of religious discrimination, harassment of religious minorities, and initiatives to support interfaith dialogue.
Embassy officials raised specific examples of harassment of religious communities with the MFA, including a rise in antisemitism cases, the report says.
It says that in several meetings with Shalom, the US ambassador and embassy officials discussed rising antisemitic rhetoric.
Subsequently, the embassy expressed solidarity with the Jewish community against religious discrimination and denounced hate speech and intolerance through social media posts and events throughout the country.
