Wiesenthal Center Condemns Recent Attacks on Synagogues in Romania and Bulgaria

June 8, 2014

Jerusalem - The Simon Wiesenthal Center today condemned the recent attacks on synagogues in Romania and Bulgaria and urged the local authorities to severely punish the perpetrators.

In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted that the attacks on the synagogues in Sofia, Bulgaria and Ploesti, Romania took place shortly after the elections for the European Parliament, in which extremist right-wing parties registered significant gains.

According to Zuroff:

"Unfortunately, it appears that the gains by racist and anti-Semitic parties in the recent elections for the European parliament have emboldened anti-Semitic vandals in Eastern Europe. We urge the local authorities in Bulgaria and Romania to quickly apprehend those guilty of committing these crimes and punish them severely, thereby sending an unequivocal message of zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia."

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 members. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament.