Shalom!

Welcome to the website of the Embassy of Israel in Sofia, Bulgaria!

Its main aim is to provide useful information about Israel and the services the Embassy provides.

We hope the large amount of information that can be found on the website will help you learn more about our unique country, history and people.

We sincerely hope that you find it useful and informative!

We welcome any suggestions or comments you may have regarding this website.

Please send them to dcm-sec@sofia.mfa.gov.il You could also find us on Facebook IsraelinBulgaria

Thank You!

ברכת השגריר לאירוע עצמאות ישראל 9/5/2012

       מכובדי כל האורחים, נציגי הממשל המקומי הבולגרי, עמיתיי השגרירים והקהילה הדיפלומטית, מכובדי אנשי הקהילה היהודית, קונסולי הכבוד של ישראל בבולגריה, אנשי הנציגות הישראלית, קהילת בעלי העסקים הישראלים בבולגריה – שלום וערב טוב לכולם.

       בהמון כבוד והערכה מברך אני את הגעתכם לאירוע זה על-מנת לחלוק אתנו את חגיגת העצמאות 64 למדינת ישראל, בציון 22 שנה לחידוש היחסים הדיפלומטים בין ישראל לבולגריה.

       מדינת ישראל הינה נקודת אור ומופת, מדינה הטבולה באקלים חיים ייחודי ואיכותי, המאפיין מיזוג דמוגרפי, גיאוגרפי וטופוגרפי מרשים, לצד שלטון דמוקרטי, יציב ובטוח.

     מדינת ישראל עומדת איתן אל מול האתגרים הרבים במציאות המורכבת, ומצליחה לשגשג ולהתפתח בממדים ורמת ההישגים חסרי התקדים ביחס לגילה הצעיר.

      על הקהילה הבינ"ל לפעול למען ביטחון קיומה ועצמאותה של מדינת ישראל, ויש למנף סגולותיה, והישגיה, ולנצל את יכולתה ועוצמתה לטובת האנושות כולה בכלכלה, במדע, בתרבות, בחקלאות ובמחקר ופיתוח.

Kunstverein Wagenhallen and 72 Hour Urban Action International

Proudly present

APPLY NOW FOR

72 HOUR URBAN ACTION STUTTGART 2012

10 Teams | 10 Sites | 10 Missions | 3 Days and Nights to Design and Build

APPLICATION IS OPEN UNTIL MAY 26th 2012

TAKE OFF JULY 11th 2012 | LANDING AND AWARDS JULY 14th 2012

Watch the Stuttgart 2012 Promo

72 Hour Urban Action, the world's first real-time architecture competition gives selected teams only three days & three nights to design and build interventions in public space in response to local needs.

72 Hour Urban Action will be the kick-off of a series of major urban interventions around Stuttgart 21, site of the largest urban redevelopment in Europe and the center of a heated 30-year-old public debate.

The competition is defined by an extreme deadline, a tight budget and limited space and will challenge participants to rapidly leave a lasting impact on the city's urban fabric. They will be battling the clock, the restrictive conditions and each other to dream and realize projects in response to the spatial and social challenges the sites and missions offer.

The international teams will include residents, architects, designers, artists, craftspeople, students and generally nice people. Teams will come to Stuttgart armed with a passion for action, and ready to give their time and expertise to help with community needs.

All participants will live together on site, in an old disused locomotive repair hangar converted into a sleep-work camp, thus enriching the neighborhood with a multi-cultural and intense experience.

Participating teams will receive a budget for materials, a central prefabrication camp, a team of 'Angels' (construction and safety engineers) and a truck (!).

The missions and sites will be assigned randomly on take off day. An international panel of jury will include prominent leaders, architects and curators. The winning team will receive a prize of $4000.

The first 72 Hour Urban Action competition took place in September 2010 as part of the Bat-Yam Biennale of Landscape Urbanism. The Bat-Yam Biennale is a unique civic action model that encourages bottom-up change in public space in collaboration with the local authorities.

The first event drew 100 participants from 20 nationalities and received major press coverage from the New York Times, Domus Magazine, Metropolis Magazine, Pruned, Abitare, Architizer, Dexinger, Designboom, ArchDaily, Worldchanging and many more.

WE INVITE ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS, ARTISTS, CRAFTSPEOPLE

AND GENERALLY NICE PEOPLE TO APPLY

FOR THEIR CHANCE TO TAKE PART IN THE ACTION!

For more information and for press enquiries,

contact us at info@72hoururbanaction.com

Within the frames of the bilateral agreement, part of the numerous understandings reached during the official meeting that took place in Sofia last July between the governments of Bulgaria and Israel, as well as the personal involvement of the two Prime ministers – Boiko Borisov and Benjamin Netanyahu, today the first group of construction workers from Bulgaria departed to Israel.

The two governments started a process of organizing the recruitment of Bulgarian construction workers and Israel's willingness to offer temporary employment to 3500 workers is only the first stage of the long-term intentions. PM Borisov and the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Totyu Mladenov put a lot of efforts for the timely and successful implementation of this agreement. A number of meetings were held between professionals from the two countries in order to reach today's date – 30 April.

The Ambassador of the State of Israel H.E. Shaul Kamisa Raz in person arrived at Sofia airport at 6 a.m. this morning in order to meet and greet the Bulgarian workers. Wishing them success with their new occupation, the Ambassador specifically emphasized that in Israel the Bulgarians will be accepted very cordially in unison with the truly warm relations between our two countries and the love Israel feels for Bulgaria. He also assured the Bulgarians that Israel has done anything possible in order to provide a perfect organization in which EL Al Israeli Airlines took a great part in facilitating the flight procedure.

His Excellency Kamisa Raz expressed his hopes for many more flights with Bulgarian construction workers to Israel as well as his firm belief that the implementation of this agreement will have a positive effect on the relations between the two countries and the financial prosperity of the families of the Bulgarians working in Israel.

In the nearest future Minister Totyu Mladenov is expected to travel to a working visit along with an expert delegation to Israel where, apart from the meetings on his agenda, he will meet the Bulgarian construction workers and see how they are adapting to the new working and living conditions.

H.E. Kamisa Raz was the guest of honor at the Remembrance Day (Yom Hazikaron) ceremony organized by the students from the Jewish School in Sofia on 25 April 2012. The Ambassador delivered a short speech greeting the students and wishing them a lot of success with their studies and later in life, after which took part in the release of 64 white and blue baloons on the occasion of Israel's 64th Day of Independence, celebrated this year on 26 April. The Ambassador's visit continued with an open Hebrew class and finished with a tour around the computer and multimedia labs, home to the school radio and TV station. The young reporters grabbed the opprtunity and took a short interview from their special guest.

On 20 April 2012 H.E. Shaul Kamisa Raz, the Ambassador of the State of Israel in Bulgaria presented officially his credential letters to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rosen Plevnenliev.

In his speech the Ambassador expressed his satisfaction to return to Bulgaria 12 years after his last mission in the region, this time as an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. He also assured the President that he will continue to work in the direction of strengthening the ties and the cooperation between the two countries.

Here is the entire speech:

Mr. President of the Republic of Bulgaria,

I have the honour to present to You

the Letters of Credence by which

the President of the State of Israel Mr. Shimon Peres has accredited me

as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

of the State of Israel to the Republic of Bulgaria,

as well as my Predecessor’s Letters of Recall.

Mr. President,

I am glad to come back to Bulgaria

after 12 years since my last mission

and now in the new capacity of an ambassador.

I am very happy to see

a remarkable transformation in your country

and to feel among friends.

Let me assure you

that I will continue to work

for the strengthening of the ties and cooperation

between our two countries.

Jelaia vi ot sarce zdrave I uspeh.

A commemoration ceremony for the Day of Holocaust - Yom Hashoah - took place on the 18 April 2012 in the entral Sofia Synagogue. The event was organized by the Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria "Shalom" and the Embassy of Israel in Bulgaria.

Among the official guests were the Israeli Ambassador H.E. Shaul Kamisa Raz, The President of the Jewish Community in Bulgaria Mr. Maxim Benvenisti, ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions, members of the Parliament, the deputy chief Mufti and representatives of different religious denominations.