site.btaIsraeli Ambassador to Bulgaria: Relations between Our Countries Date Back Over Hundred Years

Relations between Israel and Bulgaria are not just diplomatic, they are not relations between two countries - they are relations between people, between two nations, Israel's Ambassador to Bulgaria Yosef Levi Sfari said on Tuesday at the opening of the Israel in Sapphire and Gold: A Tale of Two Cities exhibition by artist Zoe Sever at Sredets Gallery in Sofia.

"We are privileged to have built a permanent bridge between our countries - the Israeli community in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian community in Israel, and thanks to them, we have a relationship that dates back more than a hundred years," he said.

He said it was wrong to talk about relations between Bulgaria and Israel as only 35 years old.

"First, because Bulgaria recognized the state of Israel in 1948 - that is when diplomatic relations were established between the two countries and the Bulgarian Еmbassy there was opened in 1952. Unfortunately, the Iron Curtain ended relations between the two countries in 1967, which remained a fact until the 1990s. Thus we commemorate the resumption of diplomatic relations 35 years ago," recalled the Israeli Ambassador to Bulgaria.

The exhibition curated by Olympia Nikolova-Daniel is part of the celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Israel. 

The opening of the exposition was also attended by National Assembly Chair Nataliya Kiselova, Deputy Culture Minister Todor Chobanov, representatives of the diplomatic corps in Bulgaria and the Jewish community in the country.

Zoe Sever was born in Lviv, Ukraine, and emigrated to Israel with her parents at the age of 16. She graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, founded by Bulgarian artist Boris Schatz. Sever has held solo and group exhibitions in Israel, Germany, France, Spain, Australia, the UK, Switzerland, US, and others. Over the past three years, she has been traveling to her native Ukraine, providing equipment and psychological support.