site.btaUPDATED Three Churches in Sofia Join Global Solidarity Bell Ringing Event

Exactly 100 days after the Hamas attack on Israel, three churches in Sofia: the St Nedelya Metropolitan Cathedral, the Elevation of the Holy Cross and the Seven Apostles of Bulgaria, sounded their bells in solidarity with the call for the release of the over 100 Israelis and foreign nationals held hostage by the Islamist group in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry supported the Global Solidarity Bell Ringing event. The idea was that over 1 million bells ring at the same time for at least 60 seconds across the globe at exactly 4 p.m. Jerusalem time (the same as Bulgarian time) on Sunday, January 14.

"One bell can warn of danger and save a village. One million bells may shake the world, herald hope and mark a line between humanity and evil," said the project initiator Dr Inon Schenker, an adjunct lecturer at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva.

"The initiative is open to anybody who wishes to join. Members of the public are welcome to share by ringing a small bell as a reminder that the hostages must be returned home and this should never happen ever again," PR officer Adelina Vasileva of the Israeli Embassy in Sofia told BTA on Saturday.