Shimon Danon and his wife Anna Danon with close friends from Israel

This my wife and me with our close friends from Israel. Sitting next to my wife is Lili, her best friend. Iosif is her brother. The photo was taken in Sofia in 1996. In my adult life I have kept my Jewish identity by regularly observing certain Jewish traditions, like Pesach, for example. As I am a member of the Jewish community in Sofia, I often visit lectures and various events that are organized by it. And, throughout the years, I have maintained regular contact with my mostly Jewish friends. To pretend that there is no fascism in Bulgaria today is nonsense. Now Mein Kampf is sold here without any obstacles. Books are distributed that deny the Holocaust and speak the same way of the Jewry as of the Mafia, claiming that they destroy nations. Anti-Semitism, the international language of fascism, is now gaining power again. 'Jews on soap' is written on the walls of the French high school in Sofia - after everything that has happened, after the death of 6 million people. There are skinheads who speak on television about destroying the Jews. If Jews are still emigrating, it's because - even since the beginning of democracy - anti-Semitism still continues to grow. And, in spite of the propaganda that is spread by some Jewish agencies that in communist times the position of Jews had been very bad, I would even say that it wasn't bad then. It is bad now. It's true, for example, that the relatives of some Jews who were living abroad were monitored and watched; they weren't allowed to hold governmental and state posts. The number of Jews working in the network of the state security system was very limited. And now - for example, Jews in Bulgaria haven't yet been compensated for their property losses during the Holocaust. On the contrary, and not without the support of famous Jewish circles, a certain policy is now circulated that - can you imagine? - there has never been fascism in Bulgaria. This is an absolute lie. And at the same time they say: 'We saved you from fascism.' Principally, the Jewish community exists only when it is necessary. I have the feeling that now it's stronger - with the emphasis put on the concept of 'Jewry' in the community itself because of the need for protection. Recently I was at a meeting where my compatriots, in the presence of the ambassador of Israel and other official figures, said that anti-Semitism continues to grow in Bulgaria. There are authors, newspapers, TV magazines with obvious anti-Semitic sentiments. They say there are no laws to oppose that. I am a jurist and I can tell you that there are texts against pro-fascist activities and racial hatred in our constitution. Because the leading posts of SDS [Union of the Democratic Forces] were held by people with pro-fascist convictions some people prefer to close their eyes.