Daniel Zion
Encyclopedia
Daniel S. Zion, (דניאל ציון),(Salonika, 1881 - Jaffa, Israel, 1976), was an Orthodox rabbi, Kabbalist and a political activist. He was one of the two senior rabbis of Sofia, Bulgaria during the Second World War.
Dr. Asher Hananel (1895–1964) he helped prevent the 800 Jews of Sofia from being deported and handed over to the Nazis to be sent to the extermination camps. He did so by appealing to the Metropolitan bishop
of Sofia Metropolitan Stefan the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
in Sofia. Bishop Stefan then appealed to the Tsar, King Boris III of Bulgaria
.
On May 24, 1943, Rabbi Zion addressed a gathering at a synagogue
. He then participated in a mass street demonstration against the anti-Jewish Law for protection of the nation
. This law was in effect between 23 January 1941 to 27 November 1944.
Bishop Stefan gave him refuge from the Nazis. However on May 26, 1943, he and many demonstrators were arrested by the police. He was then sent to a concentration camp for Jews at Somovit on the bank of the Danube
.
On September 9, 1944, he was appointed as one of Sofia's senior rabbis. In 1949 Rabbi Zion emigrated to Jaffa, Israel where he lived until his death in 1976 or 1979 as incorrectly noted by some sources. His duties were assumed by Asher Hananel.
, a Bulgarian mystical Christian teaching which combined Orthodox Christianity
with local Bulgarian religious practices led Peter Deunov
, and calling for a retrial of Jesus.
Because of these allegations in May 1949 a conference of rabbis in Tel-Aviv declared him "insane" and he was relieved from his duties as a judge on a Beth Din
. Some Messianic Jewish and Protestant missionaries state that Rabbi Zion was stripped of his post and then left the rabbinate as he secretly, and later more openly, held the view that Jesus
was the Messiah
after having a vision of him. They state that Rabbi Zion gave an interview for the United Protestant Service on 14 Sept 1952 in Jerusalem broadcast on Kol Yisrael
Radio, the national Israeli radio station, in which he expressed his faith in Jesus as the Messiah, and served as the President of the Union of Messianic Jews in Israel (Ichud Yehudim Meshihiim Be-Israel) founded by Abram Poljak.
The Holocaust in Bulgaria
In May 1943 alongside Chief RabbiChief 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...
Dr. Asher Hananel (1895–1964) he helped prevent the 800 Jews of Sofia from being deported and handed over to the Nazis to be sent to the extermination camps. He did so by appealing to the Metropolitan bishop
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Sofia Metropolitan Stefan the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
in Sofia. Bishop Stefan then appealed to the Tsar, King Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III the Unifier, Tsar of Bulgaria , originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver , son of Ferdinand I, came to the throne in 1918 upon the abdication of his father, following the defeat of the Kingdom of Bulgaria during World War I...
.
On May 24, 1943, Rabbi Zion addressed a gathering at a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. He then participated in a mass street demonstration against the anti-Jewish Law for protection of the nation
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...
. This law was in effect between 23 January 1941 to 27 November 1944.
Bishop Stefan gave him refuge from the Nazis. However on May 26, 1943, he and many demonstrators were arrested by the police. He was then sent to a concentration camp for Jews at Somovit on the bank of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
.
On September 9, 1944, he was appointed as one of Sofia's senior rabbis. In 1949 Rabbi Zion emigrated to Jaffa, Israel where he lived until his death in 1976 or 1979 as incorrectly noted by some sources. His duties were assumed by Asher Hananel.
Relationship with Christianity
After emigrating to Israel Rabbi Zion was accused of having an interest in DunovismUniversal White Brotherhood
The Universal White Brotherhood is a New Age-oriented new religious movement founded in Bulgaria in the early 20th century by Peter Deunov and established in France in 1947 by Mihail Ivanov , one of his followers, then renamed Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov...
, a Bulgarian mystical Christian teaching which combined Orthodox Christianity
Orthodox Christianity
The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* the Eastern Orthodox Church and its various geographical subdivisions...
with local Bulgarian religious practices led Peter Deunov
Peter Deunov
Peter Konstantinov Deunov was a spiritual master and founder of a School of Esoteric Christianity. He is called Master Beinsa Douno by his followers.-Biography:Born on 11 July 1864 in Hadarcha , Bulgaria, around 60 km from Varna...
, and calling for a retrial of Jesus.
Because of these allegations in May 1949 a conference of rabbis in Tel-Aviv declared him "insane" and he was relieved from his duties as a judge on a Beth Din
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
. Some Messianic Jewish and Protestant missionaries state that Rabbi Zion was stripped of his post and then left the rabbinate as he secretly, and later more openly, held the view that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
was the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
after having a vision of him. They state that Rabbi Zion gave an interview for the United Protestant Service on 14 Sept 1952 in Jerusalem broadcast on Kol Yisrael
Kol Yisrael
Kol Yisrael is Israel's public domestic and international radio service, operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.-History:...
Radio, the national Israeli radio station, in which he expressed his faith in Jesus as the Messiah, and served as the President of the Union of Messianic Jews in Israel (Ichud Yehudim Meshihiim Be-Israel) 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)
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)