Bulgaria–Israel Relations

Bulgaria–Israel relations represent one of the more distinctive bilateral partnerships between Israel and a European Union member state. The relationship is grounded in three interlocking foundations: early diplomatic recognition of Israeli statehood in 1948; the mass migration of the Bulgarian Jewish community to Israel in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which created a community bridging the two countries; and the historically significant, if morally complex, episode in which most Jews living within Bulgaria's prewar borders survived the Holocaust while Jews in Bulgarian-administered territories did not.[2][5]

The Israeli Embassy in Sofia seeks to foster diplomatic relations and promote activities in culture, education, trade, history, and innovation, describing its work as an expression of cooperation and friendship between the two countries.[7] That framing is reflected in the long arc of the relationship—from early recognition and rapid emigration, through a Cold War rupture and cautious normalization, to a post-1990 partnership spanning security, energy, academic exchange, and tourism.[5] Bulgarian President Rumen Radev described the relationship at a July 2023 ceremony: "There exists a genuine sense of friendship and understanding between the peoples of the two countries based on deep cultural and historical ties, active partnership and mutual trust."[5]

Bulgaria recognized Israel on December 4, 1948, becoming the twentieth country to do so.[1] The two governments moved quickly to build on that recognition, establishing diplomatic missions and initiating trade relations in the following years.[2][1] Bulgaria's Jewish community had numbered more than 50,000 between the world wars, and nearly the entire population of Jewish Bulgarian citizens survived the conflict; many subsequently emigrated to the newly established Jewish state.[3]

Between 1949 and 1951, 44,267 Jews emigrated from Bulgaria to Israel, and the migration continued until only a few thousand Jews remained in Bulgaria.[1] More than 32,000 Jews had already left Bulgaria by May 1949 after the Communist regime permitted emigration to Israel.[3] In the longer term, nearly 90 percent of Bulgaria's Jewish population emigrated to Israel after the war.[4] Jews from Bulgaria represented 5 percent of all immigrants to Israel during 1948–1954, and the Bulgarian-Israeli community became a continuing cultural link between the countries.[5]

In December 1944, even before Israel's establishment, David Ben-Gurion visited Bulgaria to assess the situation of Bulgarian Jews and encourage the Bulgarian government to permit emigration to Palestine. He met with Jewish community representatives, Bulgarian officials, and Allied delegates, and upon returning to Jerusalem urged the Jewish Agency to provide additional assistance for Bulgaria and Eastern Europe.[8]

The wartime history of Bulgaria's Jewish population is central to how both countries understand their relationship, and it demands careful distinction between two populations with very different fates. Bulgaria joined the Axis in March 1941 and participated in the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece in April, subsequently occupying Greek Thrace, Yugoslav Macedonia, and Pirot County.[9] The country's Jewish population before the war numbered approximately 50,000, and anti-Jewish legislation restricted civil rights and economic activities during the war years.[3]

In 1943, Bulgaria's government signed a secret agreement with Nazi Germany to deport 20,000 Jews.[10] Under that arrangement, Bulgarian authorities deported more than 11,000 Jews from Bulgarian-occupied territories—Aegean Thrace, Macedonia, and Pirot—to German-held territory. The World Jewish Congress gives a figure of 11,434 for Aegean Thrace, Macedonia, and Pirot, while the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum records 11,343 deportees from Bulgarian-occupied territories.[2][9] Virtually all were murdered at Treblinka.[9] Holocaust survivor Bilha Bryant, whose family lived within Bulgaria's prewar borders, recalled being ordered to pack small bags in preparation for deportation on March 9, 1943, only to be told the following morning—her birthday—that deportation had been postponed.[11] She later described deportation trains passing through her town: "I will never forget the cries for help coming from the box cars, always in the middle of the night."[11]

For Jews living within Bulgaria's prewar sovereign borders, the outcome was different. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Dimitar Peshev intervened with Tsar Boris III and introduced a parliamentary resolution criticizing the deportations. The resolution was voted down and Peshev was removed from his position, but the public opposition it signaled was consequential.[9] A protest petition signed by 42 legislators, alongside interventions from Orthodox Church leaders and public demonstrations, mounted sustained pressure against the deportations.[10][9] The government then expelled more than 20,000 Jews from Sofia to the provinces in May 1943, where Jewish men were subjected to forced labor and much of the property left behind was confiscated, but mass deportation to the death camps was halted.[3][9] King Boris told Nazi leaders that he needed Jews as construction workers and refused to hand them over.[10] As a result, approximately 48,000 Jewish Bulgarian citizens within Bulgaria's prewar borders survived the war.[1]

In 2013, Bulgaria's National Assembly approved a declaration acknowledging both dimensions of this history. It stated that Bulgaria had refused the deportation of more than 48,000 Jewish Bulgarian citizens to death camps, while acknowledging that 11,343 Jews from territories administered by Bulgaria were deported and expressing regret that the local Bulgarian administration had been unable to prevent those deportations.[12] The statement was described as the parliament's first acknowledgment of the deportations from the occupied territories. Bulgaria and Israel marked the anniversary with joint events, including an exhibition of archival documents and photographs opened by the countries' presidents in Brussels.[12]

Bulgaria has not issued an official apology for its treatment of the Jewish community during the period, and public and official commemorations have often emphasized the survival of Jewish Bulgarian citizens while giving less attention to the deportation of Jews from occupied territories.[3] Since 2005, Bulgaria's State Archives Agency has supplied records to Bulgarian and foreign claimants—mostly Israeli citizens—to facilitate one-time compensation payments for people forcefully deported within the country, interned, subjected to forced labor, or placed in ghettos during World War II.[3]

The early warmth of Bulgarian-Israeli ties was interrupted by Cold War geopolitics. Following Israel's victory in the June 1967 Six-Day War, Bulgaria joined other Warsaw Treaty members in severing diplomatic relations with Israel and discontinuing trade. The decision cost Bulgaria an expected trade turnover of approximately $10 million for 1967, and Bulgarian representatives at the United Nations made sharp attacks against Israel in the period that followed.[1] Bulgaria's Communist government also adopted anti-Zionist measures under Soviet influence.[2]

The rupture was never complete at the human level. Bulgarian-born Israelis could visit family and friends in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Jews were allowed to travel freely, and Israel maintained what was described in 1990 as "good links" with the country during the years of formal estrangement.[8] Bulgaria also resumed trade relations with Israel in early 1968, even though full diplomatic relations were not restored until 1990.[1]

The thaw began visibly in 1988. In November, Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Lyuben Gotsev referenced meetings between Bulgarian Foreign Minister Petar Mladenov and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and acknowledged contacts at economic and other levels, while saying Bulgaria was not yet ready for full restoration of relations.[8] Progress accelerated through 1989. In July, Bulgaria simplified entry procedures for Israeli tourists by removing the requirement to obtain visas before leaving Israel, and trade agreements between the countries were formally underwritten.[8] That December, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia concluded their first formal agreement for scientific cooperation and exchange, formalizing contacts that had already existed informally.[8]

On November 15, 1989—days after the fall of the Berlin Wall—World Jewish Congress president Edgar M. Bronfman, secretary-general Israel Singer, and other WJC leaders met newly appointed Bulgarian Party chief Petar Mladenov. The WJC reported afterward that Mladenov indicated contacts with Israel would continue to improve and that Bulgaria's Jewish community would have increased opportunities to develop closer ties with Jewish communities abroad.[8] By early March 1990, the WJC said Bulgaria would soon re-establish full diplomatic relations with Israel and that arrangements were being made for Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens to visit Sofia.[8]

Israel and Bulgaria signed a protocol to restore diplomatic relations on April 3, 1990, and formally restored full diplomatic relations on May 3 through a joint declaration signed by their foreign ministers in Sofia.[1] The restoration formed part of Bulgaria's post-1989 turn toward a more pragmatic foreign policy and renewed ties beyond the Soviet sphere.[4] In December 1993, Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev addressed the Knesset plenum, describing the countries as shaped by varied cultural and historical traditions with an aspiration for "cooperation, tolerance and mutual enrichment." He noted that approximately one-tenth of Knesset members, drawn from different parties, had formed a Bulgaria friendship group to maintain direct contact with Bulgarian parliamentarians.[13] Israel maintains an embassy in Sofia and an honorary consulate in Varna.[14]

Since the restoration of relations in 1990, the two countries have maintained an active diplomatic calendar at the highest levels. In July 2011, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a declaration pledging cooperation in foreign affairs, national security and emergency preparedness, tourism, energy, and agriculture.[1] At a February 2016 meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu described economic, trade, security, and technological cooperation as practical expressions of the countries' friendship. Borissov said they had cooperated closely after the Burgas attack and continued working together on security and counterterrorism through frequent direct contact.[15]

At a 2015 forum, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov described cooperation with Israel in defense, security, information technology, tourism, and agriculture.[16] He said Bulgaria supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and opposed unilateral steps that bypass direct negotiations.[16] In 2018, Prime Minister Borissov described bilateral relations as based on "mutual confidence" and shared values, adding: "There has never been even one moment over the years when we could not count on each other."[17] On Jerusalem, Borissov affirmed Israel's right as a sovereign state to decide which city would be its capital and seek international recognition of that choice. He also stated that Bulgaria would not move its embassy to Jerusalem at that time and that the city's status should be settled in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.[17]

In November 2020, Netanyahu met Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva in Jerusalem as the countries marked 30 years since the restoration of diplomatic relations. Both sides described the relationship as very good and the meeting as an opportunity to deepen cooperation.[18] In November 2023, following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel, Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov visited Jerusalem and met Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.[5] In August 2025, Bulgaria was reported to be among ten EU member states that had opposed suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement.[6]

The countries' parliaments have also maintained direct ties. In October 2023, members of the Bulgaria–Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group held an online call with Knesset members to express sympathy and support following the October 7 attacks. Bulgarian National Assembly member Hristo Gadzhev said, "We'll always be by your side," and member Georg Georgiev said the National Assembly backed Israel in doing what was needed to ensure its citizens' future security.[19] That month, Bulgaria's National Assembly approved a declaration supporting Israel without opposing votes, and the National Assembly building was illuminated in Israeli flag colors.[5]

Security cooperation became a defining feature of the relationship following a deadly terrorist attack on Israeli citizens on Bulgarian soil. On July 18, 2012, a suicide bombing targeted a bus carrying Israeli tourists at Burgas Airport, also known as Sarafovo Airport. Five Israelis and the Bulgarian bus driver were killed. The Jerusalem Post reported that 32 Israelis were injured, while JNS reported 35 people wounded.[20][21] Netanyahu blamed Iran for the attack and stated that Iran had attempted similar attacks against Israeli civilians during the preceding year.[1]

Bulgaria's then-interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov implicated Hezbollah in the attack in 2013, citing data about financing and connections to two suspects. A senior Israeli official also attributed the bombing to an international wave of operations involving both Iran's Quds Force and Hezbollah.[22] Hezbollah and Iran denied the allegations, and Bulgaria did not formally charge Hezbollah as an organization in the case.[20] Israel and Bulgaria launched a joint investigation with collaboration from the FBI and CIA.[23] In January 2018, a Bulgarian court opened a trial in absentia for suspects Meliad Farah and Hassan El Hajj Hassan; in September 2020, both were sentenced to life in prison.[1]

The attack did not sever the countries' ties; instead, it deepened security cooperation. In its aftermath, Israel and Bulgaria agreed to measures including training for Bulgarian personnel guarding tourist sites and buses, exchanges of aviation-security information, and the installation of closed-circuit cameras at Bulgarian airports. They also expanded cooperation in medicine, crime prevention, and irrigation technology.[24] In January 2012—before the bombing—Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Bulgarian Defense Minister Anyu Angelov had signed memoranda on joint military training and defense-industry cooperation.[1] A large joint military exercise took place in Bulgaria in September 2017, featuring 42 Israeli Air Force planes as well as Bulgarian aircraft and land-based defense systems.[1]

The countries also exchanged assistance during natural disasters. Bulgaria sent 90 firefighters to help fight a major wildfire outside Haifa in summer 2010, and Israel responded by sending two Air Tractor planes to help Bulgaria fight a fire in the Vitosha Mountains near Sofia in summer 2012.[1] At a July 2016 meeting, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev discussed bilateral relations and the Burgas investigation. Plevneliev described relations as having strengthened in recent years and emphasized security cooperation, while Rivlin called for the countries to stand together against terrorism.[25] At a ceremony marking the eleventh anniversary of the Burgas bombing in July 2023, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said the attack had shaken the country and connected Bulgaria and Israel through "deep historical and friendly ties" and a "long-standing partnership," calling for continued joint work against terrorist threats.[21]

The economic relationship rests on a legal framework constructed incrementally from the 1990s onward. In 1993, Bulgarian President Zhelev's Knesset address described plans for free trade, business relations, agricultural cooperation, and the exchange of economic information, and anticipated agreements on defense cooperation and the mutual encouragement of investment.[13] In June 2001, an Israel–Bulgaria free-trade agreement was scheduled for signing and expected to take effect within months. It was intended to gradually remove tariff discrimination against Israeli goods, which then faced customs duties of approximately 20 percent compared with near-zero duties on European products; chemicals, agricultural equipment, and electrical equipment were identified as Israeli exports that stood to benefit.[26] A 2007 country profile nevertheless listed Israel among the countries with which Bulgaria had initialed free-trade agreements; neither source by itself establishes the agreement's subsequent legal status.[27]

Bilateral trade grew substantially over the following decades. Trade reached $58 million in 2003 and $98.9 million in 2004, with Israeli exports accounting for roughly 35 percent in each year.[28] In 2022, Israeli exports to Bulgaria totaled $62.8 million, encompassing copper scrap, fabrics, agrochemicals, polymers, plastic elements, and fertilizers. Israeli imports from Bulgaria reached $320 million, including petroleum oils, grains, starch, plastic elements, passenger cars, and chemical elements.[5] Israeli investment in Bulgaria reached €298.1 million by the end of 2023.[5]

Israel and Bulgaria signed an income-tax convention in Jerusalem on January 18, 2000, aimed at avoiding double taxation and preventing fiscal evasion with respect to income taxes.[29] The convention was modified by the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. Israel and Bulgaria signed that instrument on June 7, 2017; Israel deposited its instrument of ratification on September 13, 2018, and Bulgaria did so on September 16, 2022. The MLI entered into force for Israel on January 1, 2019, and for Bulgaria on January 1, 2023.[29] A bilateral investment treaty between Israel and Bulgaria was listed as in force in Israel's 2024 Investment Climate Statement.[30] The bilateral framework also includes a 2009 Economic Cooperation Agreement and a 2012 agreement on industrial research and development.[5]

Israeli business activity in Bulgaria has extended into energy. In October 2026, Colmobil Energy and a partner controlled by retired Maj. Gen. Israel Ziv began operating a large energy-storage facility in Silistra, Bulgaria. The project involved an investment of approximately €60 million, partly financed by Bulgarian bank DSK, and uses surplus electricity from Bulgaria and Romania for storage and later sale during higher-priced periods.[31]

Tourism has become one of the most visible dimensions of the bilateral relationship. Israeli tourist arrivals in Bulgaria rose from 54,342 in 2021 to more than 174,000 in 2022, a more than threefold increase.[5] Direct flights between Tel Aviv and Sofia are operated by as many as six airlines, depending on the season.[5] In January 2023, Bulgaria's tourism minister Ilin Dimitrov and Israel's tourism minister Haim Katz signed an agreement in Sofia to expand cooperation across spa and wellness, adventure, cultural-historical, and religious tourism.[5]

Educational and scientific cooperation has deeper roots. Scientific contacts between the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bulgarian scholars predated formal agreements, and in December 1989 the Hebrew University and Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia concluded their first formal agreement for scientific cooperation and exchange.[8] In 2005, Israeli Foreign Ministry official Mark Sofer characterized Bulgarian-Israeli ties as "very friendly" at both government and popular levels and stated that the restitution issue between Bulgaria and Israel had been settled.[32]

At a 2018 forum, Prime Minister Borissov announced plans for matching memorials in Sofia and Tel Aviv commemorating the wartime rescue of Bulgarian Jews, and credited Bulgarian citizens, the Orthodox Church, public figures, and intellectuals for their role in preventing deportations during World War II.[17] He also said Bulgarian consuls in Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and elsewhere had issued approximately 20,000 transit visas to Jews from Western Europe, including children, during the war.[17]

Several aspects of the Bulgarian-Israeli relationship involve contested or historically complex dimensions. The most significant concerns Bulgaria's wartime conduct. The non-deportation of approximately 48,000 Jews living within Bulgaria's prewar sovereign borders is regularly cited by both governments as a foundation of the friendship, but it cannot be separated from the deportation and murder of more than 11,000 Jews from Bulgarian-administered territories in Thrace, Macedonia, and Pirot, in which Bulgarian authorities participated.[2][9] Bulgarian public and official commemorations have tended to emphasize the former while giving less attention to the latter, and Bulgaria has not issued an official apology.[3] The annual Lukov March in Sofia has attracted neo-Nazis from across Europe to commemorate a Bulgarian nationalist leader who supported antisemitic legislation and the deportation of Jews, illustrating the continuing disputes over public memory of wartime Bulgaria.[33]

The attribution of the 2012 Burgas bombing has also been a point of complexity. Bulgaria's interior minister and Israeli officials implicated Hezbollah and Iran, while Hezbollah and Iran denied the allegations and Bulgaria did not formally charge Hezbollah as an organization in the case.[20] Two suspects were nevertheless convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison in 2020.[1]

Bulgaria's political support for Israel has not been uniform. In 2018, Bulgaria voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution condemning the United States' decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, even as Borissov described the bilateral relationship in warmly positive terms and affirmed Israel's sovereign right to designate its own capital.[34] These positions reflect Bulgaria's effort to balance its close bilateral relationship with its commitments as an EU member state operating within broader multilateral frameworks.