Julius Berman chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, has expressed “deep distress” over anti-Semitic manifestations in Greece and the Greek government’s strong criticism of Israel since the war in Lebanon last summer.
In a letter to the Ambassador of Greece in Washington, Nicolas Karandreas, Berman said it was “particularly distressing” that Greece had voted in the United Nations General Assembly last month in favor of a resolution calling for sanctions against Israel and its political and diplomatic isolation.
“Greece was the only member of the European Economic Community to support this nefarious call,” Berman wrote the Ambassador. “Together with other, previous actions of a similar nature, this vote has caused anguish and disappointment of the friends of Greece in the American Jewish community.” Berman asked the envoy to convey these concerns to his government.
GREECE’S JEWISH COMMUNITY ALARMED
The situation in Greece has apparently alarmed that country’s small Jewish community which numbers about 5,000 out of a population of over 9.7 million and has prompted the Athens government to offer reassurances. Justice Minister George Mangakis met with a group of Greek Jewish leaders last week who urged that the present law against racism be amended to include a ban on religious discrimination.
Mangakis pledged that the government would take “the first opportunity” to press for legislation against religious discrimination. He assured the Jewish delegation that despite its criticism of Israeli policies, particularly its invasion of Lebanon last summer, the government of Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou is not anti-Semitic.
Nevertheless, the distinction between Israeli policies and Jews was blurred. In many incidents in recent months, Jews were attacked under the guise of anger against Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
An angry letter was read on the State television urging a boycott of Jewish stores. There were bomb attacks on a Jewish-owned travel agency and an Israeli company selling solar energy equipment in Athens. Placards were seen at anti-Israel demonstrations declaring “Out with Jews,” and graffiti smeared in Athens repeated the slogan “Zionists, Murderers of People.”
Some Greek Jews have reported threatening telephone calls. Security has been beefed up at synagogues and Jewish schools and community centers in Greece.
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.
