Nine leading Bulgarian higher education institutions, including the Medical University-Sofia, adopted at a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the working definition of anti-Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
With the working definition of anti-Semitism, according to Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, higher education institutions receive “another tool to ensure that the young generation, which has no personal connection to World War II and the Holocaust, will have the necessary knowledge to effectively combat intolerance and discrimination “.
Deputy minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev, who is also National Coordinator for Combating Antisemitism, stressed that spreading the working definition of anti-Semitism and its knowledge by the younger generation should be a major task. He expressed hope that the example of HEIs adopting the definition of anti-Semitism would be followed by both high schools and primary schools.
The event was attended by the rectors of the 9 universities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as follows: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Medical University – Sofia, UNWE, New Bulgarian University, University of Library Science and Information Technology, Veliko Tarnovo University “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”, Southwestern University “Neofit Rilski” – Blagoevgrad, Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, NSA, as well as the President of the Organization of Jews in Bulgaria “Shalom” Assoc. Prof. Alexander Oscar and the President of the Bulgarian Office of the American Jewish Congress Victor Melamed.
To date, the working definition of anti-Semitism has been adopted and used by 29 countries, as well as by a number of organizations, including the European Commission and the European Parliament.
