THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

Greek Jews number 5,000 out of a total population of 10 million. The two largest communities are Athens (3,000) and Thessaloniki (1,000).

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (Kentriko Israelitiko Symvoulio Ellados), the main communal organization, is recognized as a legal body under state law, functioning under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Religions.

POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITIES

The neo-Nazi Chrissi Avgi (Golden Daybreak) was the only far right group active in 2000. It was responsible for at least one antisemitic act (see below) and for attacks against left-wing targets.

The neo-fascist Proti Grammi (Front Line) party, formed in 1999 and led by Holocaust denier Kostas Plevris, took part in the April 2000 elections, but won few votes.

Several Jewish sites were vandalized in 2000. One of the most serious attacks was the desecration of the Jewish cemetery in Athens, on the night of 25–26 May 2000. More than 50 tombstones, the Holocaust memorial and the building used for burial services were daubed with SS symbols, swastikas and slogans, such as “Hitler was right,” and “Jews out” (see also ASW 1999/2000).

In February vandals defaced the commemorative plaque dedicated to victims of the Holocaust, located in Greek Jewish Martyrs Square, Athens. In addition, on the night of 20 April (the date of Hitler’s birthday, the 1967 colonels’ military coup and the visit of many Israeli supporters of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team), swastikas and antisemitic slogans were painted on the site of the Holocaust memorial and on the Monastirioton synagogue in Thessaloniki. The graffiti was signed by Chrissi Avgi. The synagogue suffered a further desecration on 7 May, abusive slogans, feces and urine were found at the entrance, shortly before a Holocaust remembrance ceremony was due to take place there.

Also in May, suspected neo-Nazis vandalized the home of the late Greek minister of culture Melina Merkouri, and of the well-known Jewish film director Jules Dassin, with swastikas and slogans such as “Death to the Jews.”

The antisemitic incidents in May occurred in the wake of the Socialist government’s decision to abolish the law requiring a person’s religion to be recorded in identity cards. Members of parliament sympathetic toward the Greek Orthodox Church or the right-wing camp, such as George Karatzaferis, accused Greek Jews of responsibility for annulment of the law. On the other hand, the Independent Authority for the Protection of Personal Data determined that religion was personal data of a private nature and thus should not be stated in identity cards. The decision was welcomed by the justice minister and is binding on the authorities.

The al-Aqsa intifada sparked a few small pro-Palestinian demonstrations (under 200 protestors each) in front of the Israeli embassy in Athens, organized by leftist groups and the Communist Party. No violent incidents occurred.

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE HOLOCAUST AND THE NAZI ERA

The municipality of Serres, near Thessaloniki, has declared an annual Holocaust Remembrance Day to be observed on 3 March, the date in 1943 when the entire local Jewish population of 600 was arrested by the Bulgarian authorities, then allies of the Nazis, and deported to concentration camps. There has been no Jewish community in Serres since then.

The traveling exhibition “Anne Frank – A History for Today,” arrived in Greece for a two-year tour. Many schools visited the exhibition when it was on display in Athens and Piraeus.

A large number of participants submitted short stories on the theme “In Memory of Greek Jewish Martyrs of the Holocaust.” The competition was organized by the Board and by the State Broadcasting Radio, within the context of a series of anti-racist initiatives begun in 1997. The prizes were presented at a public ceremony in Athens in July.

The Greek delegation to the Stockholm Forum on the Holocaust in January 2000 was led by Foreign Minister G. Papandreou. Nineteen Greek members of the European Parliament co-signed the subsequent European Union resolution pledging annual commemoration of the Holocaust in member countries.

The Greek Supreme Court has upheld a claim for 20 million pounds sterling compensation by surviving relatives of 218 non-Jews from the village of Distomo who were murdered by the Nazis in June 1944. Germany has refused to pay, arguing that Greek reparations claims were settled by a 1960 treaty, which provided war compensation but which, in effect, covered mainly administrative expenses. The court also ordered the confiscation of three German government buildings in Athens. However, the Greek government decided to postpone the confiscation. The case is being examined by a Special Supreme Court which will determine the validity of a decision by Greek courts to prosecute foreign governments.