Greek Deputy Prime Minister George Mavros declined yesterday to explain why sections of the press in Greece have indulged in anti-Semitic statements in their discussion of the Cyprus situation.
However, an unidentified member of the Mavros party, volunteered that the Greek Ministry’s Press Office has explained to official representatives of the Greek Jewish community that they should have “no worry” in Greece and pointed out the Greeks were always on the side of the Jews during World War II. When he was asked why Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger was described in some newspapers as “the Jew Kissinger,” the member replied: “Well. Kissinger happens to be a Jew. We’re against Kissinger, but not because he is a Jew.”
In the course of his remarks at a National Press Club luncheon, Mavros, who is also his country’s Foreign Minister and was an anti-Nazi fighter when Greece was overrun by the German army, indicated the Cyprus situation is a test for the United Nations. “If the world community,” he said, “cannot protect a small island nation, what is the reason for it to exist?” Mavros is in this country to attend the UN General Assembly session. (By Joseph Polakoff)
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