Page 361 - להפוך לבולגרים / קונפורטי

xii ‫ ׀‬Becoming Bulgarians

Although the Zionist movement waged an intensive battle to take
over the community committees, by 1907 its achievements were
few, and once the economic crisis had passed, the movement lost
its power. The public and cultural life of Bulgaria’s Jews entered
a calm routine, and tension between the camps slowly dissipated.
Special emphasis was put on acts of loyalty to the Bulgarian nation
and its symbols.

This tranquility did not last long, with animosity arising ahead of
the community committee elections of 1911. The Zionists blamed
the Notables and Chief Rabbi for operating undemocratically to
prevent them from taking control of the community committees;
this accusation was based on the regulations put in place in 1900
which granted the Notables excessive privileges. In 1912, the
Notables formed a party in an attempt to thwart the attacks of the
Zionist movement.

As for the nature of the struggle and its severity, this book's
conclusion is that the purpose of the Zionist movement at that
point in time was the struggle itself, which was to be kept on the
daily agenda and rouse the attention of Bulgaria’s Jewry to its
importance, and motivate its members. There were no ideological
disputes, since many of the Notables were Zionists, and others
were members of the movement.

The Balkan Wars broke out in October 1912, and WWI soon
after. These events paralyzed the public lives of Bulgaria’s Jews.
The excitement that swept through Bulgaria did not pass over the
Jews, and Jewish leadership rallied together to support the country’s
thousands of Jewish families whose members were recruited.
The Balkan Wars and WWI ended in defeat, taking the lives of
some thousand Bulgarian Jews. One of every five recruits did not
make it home from the battlefield, and hundreds of orphans and
widows dramatically changed Jewish public opinion. Six years of
war greatly damaged the country’s economy, many Notables lost