Neo-Nazis besieged a hotel in Bulgaria where dozens of Jewish teenagers were staying
A group of black-clad skinheads blocked the entrance to a hotel in the resort town of Bansko, cursed the young people, and performed Nazi salutes while shouting "Sieg Heil." Police called to the scene drove them away, but they returned shortly after. The incident comes about a week after a group of 18-year-old Israelis were attacked in Sunny Beach.
A serious antisemitic incident occurred in Bulgaria on Sunday: a group of skinheads besieged a hotel in the resort town of Bansko after discovering that dozens of Jewish teenagers from Europe and Israel were staying there. The attackers cursed the young people, blocked the hotel entrance, performed Nazi salutes, and shouted "Sieg Heil."
Police forces called to the scene drove the attackers away, but they returned a short time later and continued to threaten the participants. Among the young people staying at the hotel were Jewish teenagers from various European countries, including a delegation from the Jewish community of Rome, as well as representatives from Israel. The group had arrived in Bansko for an international training program for Jewish youth movement instructors. The skinheads, wearing black shirts with a skull symbol, tracked the young people to the hotel and began taunting them.
Victor Fadlun, president of the Jewish community of Rome, condemned the incident:
"Our children are not free to travel throughout Europe without being exposed to violence and verbal harassment by antisemites. A group of Nazi skinheads tried to break into a hotel where dozens of teenagers were staying. There were long minutes of tension, as after the police intervention, the Nazi skinheads returned, blocked the entrances again, threatened our children, and shouted at them."
Fadlun added that the Jewish community of Rome "strongly condemns this additional serious antisemitic event, which harmed Italian Jewish teenagers and their educators in a country that is a member of the European Union," and demanded that Bulgarian authorities investigate the attack, clarify the circumstances, and prosecute those responsible as soon as possible.
The incident in Bansko comes about a week after another violent event in Bulgaria, where a group of 18-year-old Israeli teenagers were besieged in their hotel rooms in Sunny Beach after being attacked by British tourists. The young people were returning from a party at night when, according to them, another group of tourists identified them as Israelis and began following them, eventually using pepper spray in a side alley. Another Israeli was dragged into a dark alley, where he was attacked and severely beaten.
Recently, a series of antisemitic incidents against Israeli and Jewish tourists have been reported across Europe, including several involving severe violence.
