Georg Georgiev Sets Up Contact Group for Combating Anti-Semitism
18 January 2018 News
“Combating anti-Semitism requires an excellent coordination between institutions and non-governmental organisations,” Deputy Minister Georg Georgiev, who is also a National Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism, said at the first constituent meeting with representatives of Bulgarian institutions concerned with the fight against this phenomenon. The meeting set the beginning of a Contact Group for interaction between government institutions, the Jewish community and non-governmental organisations in this country. The group will involve representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, justice, interior and education, Sofia Municipality, and the Shalom Organisation of Jews in Bulgaria.
The Contact Group will coordinate the interaction between the competent ministries and agencies, on the one hand, and the non-governmental organisations, on the other. The idea is to improve the effectiveness of policies and actions for preventing and countering anti-Semitism, hate speech, discrimination and intolerance.
At that first meeting, Georg Georgiev briefed those present on the main areas and priorities of his work as National Coordinator. The participants noted a number of initiatives to raise awareness of Holocaust issues. The possibilities to update primary and secondary school curricula so as to cover the topic more comprehensively were also discussed. Some of those present argued that legislative revisions are needed for more effective criminal prosecution of the perpetrators of anti-Semitic offences or manifestations of hatred.
The Contact Group also discussed its further interaction with the Bulgarian Jewish community by means of signing a memorandum of cooperation between the Government and the Shalom Organisation of Jews in Bulgaria, as well as the drawing up of a national action plan for combating anti-Semitism.
On the eve of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, Deputy Minister Georgiev and the Contact Group joined the #WeRemember initiative of the World Jewish Congress (WJC). Held for a second year running, the idea of the initiative is that people from all countries in the world should express their solidarity by posting photos of themselves with this hashtag to the social media.