Daniel S. Zion (; 3 August 1883, Salonica – 13 November 1979, Jaffa) was an Orthodox rabbi, Kabbalist* Betsalʼel, N. ''Kabbalah and the Holocaust'' (Orot, 2001) and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. Zion moved to

Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, as a slaughterer and cantor. Bulgaria's Jewish community at the time was almost completely assimilated, and there were no ultra-Orthodox communities in the country during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1943, Zion was removed from his position on the local rabbinic court for his newfound belief that

Jesus of Nazareth Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religi ...

was the Jewish Messiah.

The Holocaust in Bulgaria and subsequent life in Israel

In May 1943, alongside

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

Dr. Asher Hananel (1895–1964), Zion helped prevent the deportation of nearly 50,000 Jews from Sofia. They did so by appealing to the

Metropolitan Bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

of Sofia, Metropolitan Stefan, then head of the

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and t ...

in Sofia. Bishop Stefan then appealed to Tsar

Boris III Boris III (; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier), was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until his death in 1943. The eldest son ...

. On 24 May 1943, Rabbi Zion addressed a gathering at a synagogue, then participated in a mass street demonstration against the anti-Jewish

Law for protection of the nation The ''Law for Protection of the Nation'' () was a Bulgarian law, effective from 23 January 1941 to 27 November 1944, which directed measures against Jews and others whose legal definition it established.''Dăržaven vestnik'' tate gazette D.V., ...

. This law was in effect between 23 January 1941 to 27 November 1944. Two days after the demonstration, Zion was arrested among many others. Having previously enjoyed refuge under the protection of Bishop Stefan, he was transported to a

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

for Jews at Somovit, on the bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. After the war, Communist interests appointed Zion Chief Rabbi of Sofia. As a result, he was given the moniker "the Red Rabbi.". In 1949, Zion immigrated to

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

in the newly formed

state of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. In June 1950, for reasons to be discussed in the following section, a panel of Israeli rabbis ruled that Zion was mentally ill and removed him from the position of rabbi in Jaffa.Search results. דניאל ציון
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Relationship with Christianity

Not long after his arrival in Israel, Rabbi Zion was accused of having an interest in Dunovism, a Bulgarian mystical Christian sect led by

Peter Dunov Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. Dunovism combined elements of

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

with local Bulgarian religious practices. On 13 June 1950, an Israeli periodical reported that the then Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Rabbi Isser Yehudah Unterman (1946-1964), had interviewed

Sephardi Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

who knew Zion personally. The Sephardim reported that Zion had become increasingly anxious in recent times. They claimed that he had fasted for three days and he was hallucinating and experiencing visions. Ultimately, a conference of rabbis declared him "insane." Zion was not allowed to enter any synagogue in the city of Jaffa. He was relieved from his duties as a judge on the Beit din, ostensibly because Zion had come to hold a faith in Jesus. Zion was interviewed on 14 September 1952 by Kol Yisrael Radio, the national radio station, which was broadcast in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He expressed his view that Jesus fulfilled the various messianic prophecies. Zion further claimed that he served as the president of the Union of Messianic Jews in Israel (''Ichud Yehudim Meshihiim Be-Israel''), an organization founded by Abram Poljak.

Works

* ''Iz Nov Put,''(Sofia, 1941) * ''Pet godini pod fashistki gnet,'' (''Memoir: Five Years Under Fascist Oppression''), (Sofia, 1945) * ''Troiniya put na Noviya Chovek,'' (Sofia, 1946) * ''Seder ha-Tephilot: Tephilat Daniel''(Sofia, 1946) *

References

Books

* ''Friends' Intelligencer,'' (1950), (Volume 107, Nos. 26-52), Pg. 614 * ''American Jewish Year Book'', (1951), (Volume 52), Pg. 361 * ''Annual :Organization of the Jews in Bulgaria "Shalom"''(1951, 1970, 1980, 1984 and 1987) * Arendt, H. ''Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil,'' (Viking Press, 1963), Pg. 169 * Boyadjieff, C. ''Saving the Bulgarian Jews in World War II'' (Free Bulgaria Centre, 1989) * Chary, F.B. ''The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, 1940-1944'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1977) * Chary, F.B. "Bulgaria", Wyman, D.S. and Rosenzveig, C.H. (eds.), ''The world reacts to the Holocaust'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996) * Fein, H. ''Accounting for Genocide: National Responses and Jewish Victimization during the Holocaust,'' (Free Press, 1979) * Groueff, S. ''Crown of thorns: The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria, 1918-1943'' (Madison Books, 1987) * Haskell, G.H. From Sofia to Jaffa: The Jews of Bulgaria and Israel,' (Wayne State University Press, 1994.) * Koen, A. and Assa, ''Saving of the Jews in Bulgaria, 1941-1944'' (Setemvri, 1977) * Rothkirchen, L. ''Yad Vashem Studies on the European Jewish Catastrophe and Resistance,'' (Volume 7), (Yad Vashem, 1968) * Sachar, H.M. ''Farewell España: The World of the Sephardim Remembered'' (Howard Morley, 1994) * Steinhouse, C.L. ''Wily Fox: How King Boris Saved the Jews of Bulgaria From the Clutches of His Axis Ally Adolf Hitler,'' (AuthorHouse, 2008)

External links

theoptimists.com

"The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Holocaust: Addressing Common Misconceptions" - ''Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe''

tu-berlin.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zion, Daniel 1881 births 20th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Rabbis from Thessaloniki Bulgarian Orthodox rabbis Kabbalists Bulgarian Holocaust survivors Bulgarian emigrants to Israel Bulgarian Jews in Israel 1979 deaths Burials at South Cemetery in Israel