Rumen Radev calls for remembering the lessons of the past and defending peace

The beginning of the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, was marked by the lighting of candles at the Central Sofia Synagogue. Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev lit the first candle in the ritual menorah, BNR’s reporter Tsvetelina Stoyanova informed.

“In today’s time of growing challenges, of ethnically motivated pogroms and of killings, as happened in Australia as well—a time when the voice of humanism and reason is increasingly drowned out by hatred and the roar of weapons—the message of Hanukkah sounds even more strongly. It is also a powerful message of peace, a message of understanding, a message of tolerance”, Bulgaria’s head of state said. Rumen Radev added that his appeal is to remember the lessons of the past and to stand up for peace, humanism, and tolerance, in order to preserve the wisdom of our ancestors and pass it on to the future generations.

At the ceremony, the Jewish community and the official guests honored the memory of the 15 victims of the terrorist attack in Sydney.

Edited by Diana Tsankova

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov