Both the Central Israelite Spiritual Council in Bulgaria, and Shalom, the organisation of Bulgarian Jews, support the Istanbul Convention and called for its ratification by the National Assembly in Sofia. They joined parts of the Bulgarian government and NGOs, which have expressed the same position.
In a joined statement, signed by both Sofia Cohen, the the Head of the Central Israelite Spiritual Council, and Shalom’s President Dr. Alexander Oscar, it said in Jewish tradition and history domestic violence had never had the approval of society or religion.
Existing laws in today’s world did not sufficiently address the problem of domestic violence. In Bulgaria, the discussion on the Istanbul Convention and domestic violence was politicised and used for partisan politics, while the Bulgarian public was not too familiar with the content of the convention.
According to the two largest Jewish organisations in Bulgaria, it is high time to speak out against all forms of violence, and gender equality. Shalom and the Central Israelite Spiritual Council called on all religious communities and NGOs in Bulgaria to follow suit.
A public discussion on the “Action against violence against women and domestic violence”, also known as the Istanbul Convention, took place at Sofia University today. MPs participated. So did NGOs and regular citizens. As expected, a conciliation was not reached.
Maya Manolova, the Ombudswoman of the Republic of Bulgaria, said mainly because of the position of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, which rejected the Istanbul Convention, the discussion on interpretative statements needed to be continued.
Within the Bulgarian government, ministers of GERB, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov’s centre-right party, want a ratification of the convention, while their coalition partners, the radical right-wing United Patriots, do not.
Photo: Alexander Oscar of Shalom. Photo by Imanuel Marcus.