17th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media Organized by BTA Begins in Jerusalem

Jerusalem, 1 November, 2022 (TPS) -- SOFIA, 01.11.2022 (BTA)
The 17th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media takes place under the motto “Media and Salvation” in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Tuesday and Wednesday, on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews. The event is organized by the Bulgarian News Agency.

The meeting is scheduled to open with a prayer at the Church Holy Sepulchre. On November 2 addresses will be made by Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Iotova, caretaker Culture Minister Velislav Minekov, Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov, Bulgarian Ambassador to Israel Rumyana Buchvarova and the head of the EU delegation to Israel Dimiter Tsanchev. The forum will be opened by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev.

The 17th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media will be attended by representatives of more than 20 Bulgarian media abroad.

On March 17, 1943, Dimitar Peshev, the then Vice-President of the XXIV Ordinary National Assembly, sent a critical letter of protest to Prime Minister Bogdan Filov against the deportation of Bulgarian Jews, which was signed by a total of 43 lawmakers. Peshev’s act was supported by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and intellectuals. Under public pressure, the deportation of nearly 50,000 Bulgarian Jews was canceled, but some 10,000 of them were deported from Sofia to the countryside. King Boris III informed Adolf Hitler that for the time being he did not intend to hand over Bulgaria’s Jews, because they would be needed to build new roads.

The program of the 17th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media consists of three panels, two of which will be held in Jerusalem on November 2 and one in Tel Aviv on November 3. The first panel will be dedicated to Media and the Salvation of Man. The second panel, dedicated to the media and its salvation in the world of the Internet, will be hosted by the Tazpit Press Service (TPS). The third panel is dedicated to the media and the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews.

A visit to the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem is planned as part of the forum. The memorial complex was built in 1953 as a tribute to the nearly six million Jews killed during World War II (1939-1945). In front of the entrance to the Centre is the Avenue of the Righteous which is inscribed with the names of people who personally contributed to rescuing Jews during World War II. Currently, the names of 20 Bulgarians are inscribed there. Those Bulgarians have been honored with the title “Righteous Among the Nations” by the Yad Vashem Centre. Among the Righteous Bulgarians are Rubin Dimitrov, a baker from Sofia nicknamed Bichko, Stefan I of Bulgaria, Exarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, politician, and public figure Dimitar Peshev, among people from the Kyustendil Region [Southwest Bulgaria].

The programme also includes a visit of the American Jewish Committee – Jerusalem and a meeting with its director, Avital Leibovich.

Traditionally, at the end of the Meeting of Bulgarian Media, the National Endowment Fund “13 Centuries Bulgaria” will present an award for contribution to the dissemination of Bulgarian culture by Bulgarian-language media abroad.

The 17th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media is held in partnership with Aurubis Bulgaria, Postbank and Dimitar Madzharov-2 Ltd.