Greece’s Ambassador to the United States today repudiated an alleged attack by a Greek diplomat in the U.S. on film producer Jules Dassin as the “Jew husband” of actress Melina Mercouri.
In a statement to the American Jewish Congress, which sharply protested the attack, Ambassador Christian Palamas said he had ordered an investigation to determine the authenticity of what he called a “derogatory reference to an individual’s Jewish faith.” Ambassador Palamas told the AJC: “regardless of the outcome of the investigation, I wish to state that Greece has always been free of any Jewish prejudice and is proud of its long history in this respect. Any suggestion to the contrary is unfounded and does not accurately and fairly represent the views of the Government, its officials or the Greek people.”
The AJC acted following press reports that George J. Gavas, until recently the Greek Consul-General in New York, had said in a memorandum to the Greek Embassy in Washington that “the American Communist party started financing the actress Melina Mercouri, her Jew husband Jules Dassin and…” Mr. Gavas has left the consulate in New York and is returning to Greece, the AJC was told by the Greek Embassy.
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