Bulgaria's Jews slam deputy PM for George Soros conspiracy comment
The backlash against these comments come on the 32nd day of the ongoing protests in Bulgaria, calling on the government to step down.
By AARON REICHBillionaire investor George Soros speaks to the audience at the Schumpeter Award in Vienna, Austria June 21, 2019. (photo credit: REUTERS/LISI NIESNER)
"Shalom," a Jewish umbrella organization in Bulgaria, slammed Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Krassimir Karakachanov for stating that George Soros-backed NGOs in the country “want to take power in order to introduce gay marriage,” the Sofia Globe reported Sunday.Backlash against Karakachanov, leader of an ultra-nationalist party that is a minority partner in the ruling coalition, saw the politician accused of antisemitism, as well as voicing a conspiracy theory commonly propagated by members of the far Right.These conspiracy theories, which seek to tie Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor and philanthropist George Soros to a number of different events and political movements around the world, have become more widespread in recent months. This is especially true with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which many among the far Right have blamed Soros for causing.Many of these theories do not discuss Soros's Jewish heritage. However, most consider them antisemitic, with Shalom describing them as reminiscent of Nazi propaganda, citing Jews as an example, as well as furthering the myth of Jewish interference in global socio-economic processes, the Sofia Globe reported.The backlash against these comments come on the 32nd day of the ongoing protests in Bulgaria, calling on the government to step down.“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,” Shalom said, according to the Sofia Globe.
