The City Council of Chicago overwhelmingly accepted a resolution commemorating the 120th anniversary of Bulgaria-USA diplomatic ties, BGNES reported.
The document mentions Bulgaria's participation in the World Columbus Exhibition in 1893, which was hailed as "the first diplomatic recognition of Bulgaria as an independent state" by the "Chicago Tribune" newspaper. Aleko Konstantinov's travelogue "To Chicago and Back" is renowned as an inspiration to generations of Bulgarian emigrants who moved to Chicago.
The resolution recognizes the work of Bulgarian politicians, administrators, officers, clergy, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens who, in the spring of 1943, resisted Nazi pressure to deport Bulgarian Jews to concentration camps, saving approximately 50,000 Bulgarian Jews from the Nazi regime's worst terrors.
The redemption of the Bulgarian Jews is a strong, good example that motivates countries across the world to battle current expressions of anti-Semitism.
The Chicago City Council honors Bulgaria, which has been constant in its support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity from the start of Russia's unwarranted attack against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, by providing military, technical, and humanitarian aid. The Bulgarian government continues to support Ukraine's entrance to the European Union and NATO, and it is ready to assist in the country's post-war rehabilitation.
Alderman Gilbert Viegas, a Latino community leader, proposed the motion, which was seconded by Alderman Debra Silverstein, the Jewish community's representative on the Chicago City Council. Svetoslav Stankov, the Consul General in Chicago, spearheaded the resolution. "It was a great honor for me to be the guest of honor at the meeting and to accept, on behalf of Bulgaria, the most sincere congratulations from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the entire City Council on the occasion of the adoption of this historic act for us Bulgarians," Stankov went on to say. /BGNES
