Nazi skinheads surrounded a hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria, on August 2, confronting Jewish teenagers who were attending a summer camp. Footage shows the group attempting to enter the hotel and, when unsuccessful, making Nazi salute gestures and chanting "Sieg Heil" towards a first-floor room where the teenagers were located. The group of five also issued threats and told the teenagers to come down.
The incident occurred in Bulgaria's capital city and lasted for several minutes, causing a tense situation. Police intervened and moved the skinheads along, but they reportedly returned and again blocked the hotel entrances, continuing to threaten and shout at the teenagers. The teenagers were reportedly from Rome and Milan, in Bulgaria for a summer camp with their teachers.
Representatives from Jewish communities in Italy have condemned the incident. Victor Fadlun, president of the Jewish Community of Rome, stated that "Our children are not free to travel in Europe without being exposed to the violence and verbal aggression of anti-Semites." He added that the community "strongly condemns this latest episode of antisemitism" and called on Bulgarian authorities to investigate the aggression and prosecute those responsible.
The Union of Italian Jewish Communities expressed solidarity with the young Italian Jews and warned of a worrying escalation in such incidents across Europe. "These incidents continue to recur, with an increasingly worrying escalation," the group stated, vowing to take measures to ensure the safety of Jewish life in Europe.
Italy's foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, also condemned the attack, expressing solidarity with the targeted group and calling antisemitism "a seed that must be fought, a form of hatred and discrimination that must be eradicated."