Despite the intervention of the Jewish community of Greece and Chief Rabbi Ben Zion Usiel of the Sephardic community of Israel, Meir Itzhak Levy, a 33-year-old Greek Jew, was executed this week-end in Larissa following his conviction by a military court which tried him on charges of being in contact with the guerrillas.
Prior to his trial, Levy, who was a reserve officer, offered to prove his loyalty by fighting at the front against the guerrillas. The numerous appeals in his be-half only managed to postpone the execution for a short time. Chief Rabbi Elias Barzilai of Greece called on the commander-in-chief of the army and asked that Levy’s life be spared. The army chief sent the file of the case to a special board of appeals.
At about the same time, the Minister of War, P. Canellopoulos, asked the commander of the Larissa district to investigate the case fully. The Central Jewish Board and the Jewish communities of the Larissa district as well as Levy’s home town, Trikala, entered pleas in his behalf. Levy’s brother was crippled while serving in the Greek Army and his sister and her entire family were victims of the Nazi crematoria.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
