A delegation of European Jewish representatives called on Bulgaria’s President Georgi Parvanov to use his influence to combat calls within the European Union to suspend the upgrading of relations with Israel. “There are unfortunately some discordant voices within the EU who use Israel’s economic development as a political bargaining chip in issues that have little to do with economics and trade” Dr. Moshe Kantor, the European Jewish Congress (EJC) president, said Wednesday.
Kantor called for a consensus on Iran’s nuclear program and called European leaders “to act quickly and drastically to prevent Iran from terrorizing Europe with these weapons”. The EJC delegation also called on the Bulgarian government to be vigilant against anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance and racism, especially in politics.
“In Bulgaria, extremist parties should be monitored and legal action should be adopted if they incite xenophobia, anti-Semitism, racism and other forms of intolerance”, Kantor stated. “There is a growing phenomenon of far-right extremist parties across Europe, some who have managed to gain a foothold in the European Parliament, and have used these intolerances, most notably anti-Semitism, as a platform to political power” Kantor added.
