The Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom” castigated Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Krassimir Karakachanov’s comment that “NGOs in Bulgaria backed by George Soros want to overtake the power in order to introduce gay marriage” and called this kind of rhetoric anti-Semitic to the core.
This statement by Karakachanov, leader of the ultra-nationalist Bulgarian party VMRO that is a minority partner in the coalition government, came on the 32nd day of protests for the resignation of the government. Karakachanov’s comment caused an outbreak of commentaries on the social media, many of which were outright anti-Semitic.
“Shalom”, the organization that unites the Jews in Bulgaria said that it was very upset by this statement of Karakachanov, noting that the practice of constantly dubbing people “Sorosoids”, although not in direct correlation with the Jewish ancestry of the billionaire, businessman and philanthropist, George Soros, is yet Antisemitism.
“Involving the name of George Soros, a Hungarian Jew who survived the Holocaust and one of the greatest modern philanthropists, in various conspiracy theories is not only inappropriate, but also reminiscent of the days when the Nazi propaganda machine cited Jews as an “example” towards achieving its selfish political goals.
In recent years, the name Soros, or the term “Sorosoid,” has been used by all far-right organizations and political leaders in Europe and the United States as part of conspiracy theories, including alleging that the Covid-19 pandemic was the work of Zionist Jews.
Although these theories related to the name of George Soros do not mention his Jewish origins, they are strongly anti-Semitic in character and serve as a basis for alleging Jewish interference in socioeconomic processes in countries around the world,” Shalom reacts.
The organization of the Jews in Bulgaria says that hate speech should not be allowed to overtake the Bulgarian society.
“We are going through a very difficult, existential period of our Bulgarian history and we must not allow hate speech to achieve supremacy in Bulgarian society. We call upon the Bulgarian politicians not to involve the name of George Soros in various conspiracy theories, nor to allow the spreading of neo-Nazi ideology in the society, “Shalom” appeals.
