Tag #128030 - Interview #77994 (ester josifova)

My grandfather's first wife, my real grandmother, had a brother, Haim Farhi, who was one of the most eminent Zionist leaders in Bulgaria. He knew Theodor Herzl [1] personally. He warned my father many years before the Holocaust that hard times for Jews were to come. He even advised him to leave for Israel with the family. My father said that it wasn't the right time because the children had to continue their education in Bulgaria. However, he bought land in Israel, before the country was even founded, with foresight for his children's future. When my sisters went to live in Israel in 1948 they settled on this plot of land.

Haim Farhi was a close associate of King Ferdinand. He was sent to Spain as a diplomat for five years thanks to his excellent knowledge of Spanish. He had studied diplomatic science before that. I remember that he lived on Pirotska Street and there were security guards in front of the house. He held a very high public position. I remember that he visited my father in 1926-1927 to advise him to emigrate to Palestine. Haim Farhi supported many Jewish emigrants financially when they left for Palestine. After World War I, Haim became the Foreign Affairs Counselor of King Boris III, the son of King Ferdinand. He was sent to Palestine in the 1930s with great respect from the King of Bulgaria. There is a street named after Haim Farhi in Jerusalem.