Bulgarian Jews The history of the Jews in Bulgaria goes back almost 2,000 years. Jews have had a continuous presence in historic Bulgarian lands since before the 2nd century CE, and have often played an important part in the history of Bulgaria. Today, ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

are Jewish immigrants and descendants of the immigrants of the Bulgarian Jewish communities, who now reside within the state of Israel. They number around 75,000 in the wider definition, and 7,500 in the narrower scope (those with Bulgarian citizenship).

History

After the establishment of the state of Israel, most of the Bulgarian Jewish population

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

for

, leaving only about a thousand Bulgarian Jews living in Bulgaria today (1,162 according to the 2011 census). According to Israeli government statistics, 43,961 people from Bulgaria emigrated to Israel between 1948 and 2006, making Bulgarian Jews in Israel the fourth largest group to come from a European country, after the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. The current population estimates are 48,900 Jews born or with a father born in Bulgaria or Greece. 32,000 Jews with a Bulgarian- or Greek-born father. 17,000 Bulgarian- and Greek-born Jews.

Notable people

Binyamin Arditi Binyamin Arditi ( he, בנימין ארדיטי, 1 July 1897 – 20 May 1981) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Herut and Gahal between 1955 and 1965. Biography Born in Vienna, Arditi attended high school i ...

Gabi Ashkenazi Gabriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi (; born 25 February 1954) is an Israeli politician and former military leader. He previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2007 to 2011. ...

Menachem Ashkenazi Menachem Ashkenazi ( he, מנחם אשכנזי) (6 August 1934 – 13 November 2000) was an Israeli international football referee, born in Bulgaria, active during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first Asian referee who officiated in a World C ...

Michael Bar-Zohar Michael Bar-Zohar ( he, מיכאל בר-זהר, born 30 January 1938) is an Israeli historian, novelist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset on behalf of the Alignment and Labor Party in the 1980s and early 1990s. Biography Born in Bul ...

* Shimon Bejarano * Albert Cohen *

Ya'akov Eilon Ya'akov Eilon ( he, יעקב אילון, born 3 May 1961), Jacob Eilon, is an Israeli television presenter and journalist. Alongside Miki Haimovich, he was the anchor of Channel 2 (Israel), Channel 2's ''HaHadashot 12, HaHadashot 2'' and Chan ...

Moshe Gueron Moshe Yitzhak Gueron ( he, משה יצחק גרון; b. 20 March 1926 - 11 December 2017) was an Israeli physician and researcher, innovator, scientist, medical educator, Professor of Cardiology at the Medical School for International Health at Be ...

Shlomo Kalo Shlomo Kalo ( he, שלמה קאלו; February 25, 1928 – August 30, 2014) was a writer and microbiologist. He published approximately 80 fiction and nonfiction books in Hebrew, some of which are published in translation internationally. Biograp ...

Rafael Moshe Kamhi Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ' ...

Oshrat Kotler Oshrat Kotler (Hebrew: אושרת קוטלר; born 25 July 1965) is an Israeli journalist, television news presenter and author. Biography Kotler, born Levi, comes from a Sephardi family from Bulgaria which spoke Ladino. She has written several b ...

Shabtai Konorti Shabtai Konorti ( he, שבתאי קונורטי; December 13, 1943 – May 27, 2002) was an Israeli actor. Biography Born in Bulgaria, Konorti moved to Israel with his family at the age of six. He studied at the Municipal High School in Tel Aviv ...

Shmuel Levi Shmuel Levi ( he, שמואל לוי; March 14, 1884 – July 1966) was an Israeli painter. Biography Shmuel Levi (Ophel) was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. The name Opal was added by him as a pen name, yet at some point Levi abandoned it. His artwor ...

Yehuda Levi Yehuda Levi ( he, יהודה לוי; born June 29, 1979) is an Israeli actor and model. His breakthrough role was in the TV series ''Lechayey Ha'ahava'' (''Here's To Love'', 2001). Early life Levi was born in Petah Tikva, Israel. His father Y ...

Raphael Mechoulam Raphael Mechoulam ( he, רפאל משולם, bg, Рафаел Мешулам; born 5 November 1930) is an Israeli organic chemist and professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. Mechoulam is best known for h ...

Moni Moshonov Shlomo "Moni" Moshonov ( he, שלמה "מוני" מושונוב; born 18 August 1951) is an Israeli actor, comedian, and theater director. Early and personal life Moshonov was born in Ramla, Israel, to a Sephardic Jewish family that immigrated ...

Ya'akov Nehoshtan Ya'akov Nehoshtan ( he, יעקב נחושתן‎; 22 April 1925 – 17 April 2019) was an Israeli politician and diplomat. He served as a member of the Knesset for Gahal between 1969 and 1974 and as ambassador to the Netherlands between 1982 a ...

Ya'akov Nitzani Ya'akov Nitzani ( he, יעקב ניצני, born Ya'akov Chechik; 6 December 1900 – 15 September 1962) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Mapai from 1952 until 1959. Biography Born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, to a Seph ...

Avraham Ofek Avraham Ofek ( he, אברהם אופק; August 14, 1935 – January 13, 1990) was a multidisciplinary Israeli artist. Biography Avraham Ofek was born in Burgas, Bulgaria. Within two years of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, ...

Israel Pincas Israel Pincas ( he, ישראל פנקס; born January 28, 1935) is an Israeli poet. Biography Pincas was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1935. He lost his father at the age of 6. As a boy, he emigrated to the Mandate Palestine with his mother in 1944 ...

* David Primo * Albert Salomon *

Victor Shem-Tov Victor Shem-Tov ( bg, Виктор Шемтов; he, ויקטור שם-טוב; 1 February 1915 – 8 March 2014) was an Israeli politician who held several ministerial portfolios in the late 1960s and 1970s. Biography Born in Bulgaria to a fami ...

Rachamim Talbi Rachamim Talbi ( he, רחמים טלבי; born Rahamim Talbiev ( bg, Paхaмим Taлбиeв; born 17 May 1943 in Vidin, Bulgaria) is a former Israeli association football, football forward, who played for the Israel national football team, Israe ...

* Rami Yosifov *

Daniel Zion Daniel S. Zion (3 August 1883, Salonica – 13 November 1979, Jaffa) was an Orthodox rabbi, Kabbalist* Betsalʼel, N. ''Kabbalah and the Holocaust'' (Orot, 2001) and political activist. Zion moved to Sofia, Bulgaria, as a slaughterer and can ...

* Emanuel Zisman

References

Israeli Jews by national origin {{Israel-stub

History

Notable people

See also

References