As we mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, celebrations of victory are tempered by the fact that it cost 50 million lives, which puts the present coronavirus crisis in perspective.

Among those were six million Jews who were cold-bloodedly murdered as the Nazis tried to eradicate their race.

Amazingly, however, Bulgaria’s Jewish population was saved – in no small part due to the intervention of their Chief Rabbi, who also happened to be a follower of Yeshua (Jesus).

All of which makes it particularly tragic to have to record the solemn news of modern Israel’s first Messianic^[1] martyr, beaten to death in a horrific attack just weeks ago. I will say more of this later.

It wasn’t until I watched the intriguing BBC TV pilgrimage series, The Road to Istanbul, featuring a group of celebrities sampling this tough adventure through glorious countryside while engaged in deep discussion of a religious nature, that I first heard the story of how Bulgaria’s 50,000 Jews had survived the Holocaust.