Teenage daughters of friends from Rome found themselves trapped in a hotel in Bulgaria, forced to endure the murderous chant of “Sieg Heil!” shouted by a gang of Bulgarian antisemites.
The incident occurred on Sunday in the ski resort of Bansko, where neo-Nazis blocked the entrances to the hotel hosting Israeli and Italian Jewish youth delegations, chanting Nazi slogans and giving Nazi salutes before they were dispersed by police.
This time, the perpetrators wore the unmistakable face of Hitlerism. They are still with us, and today they feel emboldened by an atmosphere in which antisemitism has once again become acceptable.
Will the antisemites of the left, masquerading as mere critics of Israel, now seize this opportunity to cloak themselves in the mantle of human rights defenders, claiming to protect Jews from the “usual” fascists?
No, thank you. Jews can defend themselves. No one should be deceived.
The anguish of watching our children exposed to such hatred leaves no room for political disguises. It is genuine. The monstrosity of Nazi-style antisemitism—the classic racist variety—now dares to reveal itself openly because it has become part of a broader ecosystem in which movements with very different ideological origins converge on a common target.
That convergence matters.
The various factions are not necessarily coordinating with one another. But they all benefit from the growing legitimacy afforded to hatred of Jews, Judaism, Israel and Zionism. Together, they reinforce an environment in which antisemitism flourishes.
Bulgaria illustrates how these forms of hatred increasingly overlap. Throughout the year—and especially since Oct. 7, 2023—the country has witnessed the public display of neo-Nazi symbols, swastikas and repeated attempts to revive the annual march honoring Hristo Lukov, the leader of Bulgaria’s pro-Nazi Legions.
At the same time, anti-Israel activism has targeted Jewish institutions. In 2025, “Free Palestine” graffiti was sprayed across the Sofia synagogue, covering photographs of those murdered during the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
On Oct. 9, 2025, Sofia’s Monument of Salvation, dedicated to those who opposed the deportation and persecution of Bulgaria’s Jews during World War II, was vandalized and covered in red paint. The city’s Holocaust memorial was desecrated as well.
These are only a few examples.
The attacks have come from both the right and the left, directed at the same targets: Jews.
This pattern is no longer confined to Bulgaria. Europe is increasingly afflicted by antisemitism from both extremes of the political spectrum. Across the Atlantic, the phenomenon is equally striking. A neo-Nazi such as Nick Fuentes and politicians such as Zohran Mamdani may come from vastly different ideological traditions, yet both participate in portraying “Zionism” as the embodiment of Jewish wrongdoing.
Who, then, still believes that one side merely offers “legitimate criticism of Israel” while the other alone represents antisemitic extremism?
The truly dangerous development is the convergence itself.
Vile are the Nazis. Vile, too, are the red-green antisemites. Vile are those who accuse Jews of orchestrating global conspiracies, and equally vile are those who portray the Jewish state as the source of the world’s evils. Different slogans, different histories—but increasingly the same target.
That convergence is poisoning Europe and spreading far beyond it.
It will eventually be exposed for what it is.
And Jewish children will not remain locked away in fear. They will walk out, calmly and confidently, toward life.
