Hundreds of Bulgarian expats in Israel attended the traditional fair in “Bulgaria” forest near Jerusalem. The congregation took place to mark the upcoming Day of St. Cyril and Methodius on 11 May, and the anniversary of the breaking up of a demonstration in Sofia in 1943 against the deportation of Jews.

This year the highlight was the 80^th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews and 75 years since the restoration of the Jewish state in which expats from Bulgaria have played an important part, BNR’s correspondent in Israel Fenya Dekalo reports. The “Bulgaria” forest came into being on an arid hill where 50,000 saplings were planted. A pathway in the forest commemorates the Jews deported from Thrace, Macedonia and Pirot.