GREECE
Antisemitic activity in Greece in 2005 was characterized mainly by occasional acts of graffiti in public places,
often signed by the neo-Nazi group Chrissi Avghi. Chrissi Avghi was also one of
the organizers of a pan-European neo-Nazi festival which was due to take place
in Greece, but was banned by the government following strong protests by
anti-fascist and Jewish organizations. The public launch of the Greek edition
of a book by British Holocaust denier David Irving was also canceled.
the
jewish community
The current Jewish population of Greece is estimated at
approximately 5,000 out of a total population of 10 million, 3,000 of whom live
in Athens. The Kentriko Israilitiko Symvoulio (Central Board of Jewish
Communities in Greece – KIS) is the governing body of the Jewish communities.
political
organizations and GROUPS
Chrissi Avghi (Golden Dawn), the main neo-Nazi
organization in Greece, has been behind many incidents of antisemitic vandalism
and graffiti over the years (see also below). About 300 activists operate in
ten major cities. They publish a weekly bearing the same name, as well as the
magazine Antepithessi (Counter-Attack), which contains a supplement in
English.
In September, a three-day pan-European
neo-Nazi festival was announced to take place in a camping area in the Peloponnese. Chrissi Avghi, NPD (Germany), Forza Nuova (Italy) and a Spanish Falange group were
the organizers of the event, which was publicized on the Internet (www.euro-fest.tk) and was expected to
attract leading figures of the European extreme right to its conferences and
hate music concerts.
The announcement prompted a strong wave
of protests, inter alia, by local anti-fascist organizations and international
Jewish organizations (European Jewish Congress, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation
League, Simon Wiesenthal Center). The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece sent letters to the public order and justice ministers, asking the government not to
allow the festival to take place on Greek soil. The Peloponnese local
authorities declared their intention not to host the event. As a result, State
Minister and Spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos, announced the government’s
decision to ban the festival. A similar statement was also made by Minister of
Public Order Georgios Voulgarakis.
The event was subsequently reduced to a
meeting in the headquarters of Chrissi Avghi in Athens, attended by a few dozen
neo-Nazis.
George Karatzaferis, leader of the
nationalist, xenophobic LAOS (Popular Orthodox Herald) party, has a record of
antisemitic statements. A member of the European Parliament since 2004, he
belongs to the anti-EU constitution Independence and Democracy group. In
keeping with his ‘new European profile’, Karatzaferis joined with the group in
submitting a draft resolution on Holocaust remembrance. Further, he personally
addressed a letter to the EP president on 7 February, proposing measures for
combating antisemitism.
antisemitic activity
The
situation regarding antisemitism in Greece has remained virtually unchanged in
the past few years. As in 2004, there were no acts of vandalism against Jewish
memorial sites and antisemitic activity was characterized mainly by occasional
acts of graffiti in public places, often signed by Chrissi Avghi. In the press,
the anti-Israel line continued, albeit less intensively compared to the three
years following the outbreak of the intifada.
As in 2004, graffiti reading “Jews out,” signed by Chrissi
Avghi reappeared on several occasions on the Athens-Corinth highway, and was erased
repeatedly (see also ASW 2004). Chrissi Avghi appeared to be
responsible for several other incidents of graffiti writing. For example, swastikas
and graffiti reading “Foreigners out” and “Chrissi Avghi Now” were reported at various
public places on the island of Kephalonia, including on the marble plaque
placed many years ago in honor of the support given by the Israeli Navy to the
victims of the earthquake that devastated the island in 1953; on the residence
of the local metropolitan bishop and on the island’s post office. In addition, the
NGO Greek Helskini Monitor informed Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis that
graffiti reading “Foreigners, get,” :Jews get out,” “Crush the Zionists,” and
“Jewish whores! Prepare for the gallows,” had appeared at the entrance to the
parking lot of the court house on Moustoxidou St. in Athens. It was signed by
Chrissi Avghi. In
February, swastikas appeared on the façade of a shop in Athens owned by a Jew.
On 17 December the
Archbishop of Athens, Christoudoulos Paraskevaides, compared Israel to hell during a service at at the Aghios Spyridon Church. He retracted his statement after
it was condemned by the Israeli ambassador. It should be noted that in January
the archbishop had denied the assertion made in the US State Department Report on
Global Antisemitism that Greece was a racist country, citing Greek
assistance to Jews in obtaining false identity papers during the Nazi
occupation. He stressed that the tradition of “burning the Jew” at Easter
symbolized “Judas the traitor” and not Jews in general.
Attitudes
toward the Holocaust:
Holocaust
Remembrance
In
2004, the date 27 January was established by law as the Memorial Day of Greek
Jewish Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust. Accordingly, on 27 January 2005, a commemoration ceremony was held in Thessaloniki, at the city’s Concert
Hall, organized by the local Jewish community and the Prefecture of Thessaloniki. Key speaker at the event was then German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.
A Presidential Decree was issued in
February 2005 defining the nature and character of the memorial day. It delegates
responsibility for the organization of ceremonies to the prefectures, thus encouraging
the holding of commemoration activities in several cities. Toward the 2005
date, the Ministry of Education distributed material on the history of the
Holocaust of the Greek Jews, which was read in schools around Greece.
On 23 October, a second seminar for
teachers and educators was held in Thessaloniki on the subject of “Teaching the
Holocaust in Greece.” It was organized by the Jewish Museum of Greece and held
under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Education.
In November, the Ministry of Education
proclaimed a Panhellenic Students Composition Contest on the theme of “Greek
Jews and the Importance of Holocaust Remembrance.” The Israeli embassy, the
Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and the Jewish Community of
Thessaloniki sponsored the award.
In 2005 Greece participated in both
meetings of the International Task Force for Holocaust Education, Remembrance
and Research (ITF.). As of November 2005, Greece became a full member of ITF.
Holocaust Denial
British
Holocaust denier David Irving arrived in Greece for the launch of the Greek
edition of his book The War between the Generals (published
by Iolkos). The presentation was scheduled to take place on 25 October, at the
conference hall of the Athens Journalists Union. On 4 October the Central Board
of Jewish Communities sent a letter of protest to the Athens Journalist Union asking
it not to host the author whose books insult the memory of Holocaust victims.
Two days later the union issued a press release, announcing its board’s
decision not to host the event in order to prevent Irving from disseminating
his Holocaust denying ideas. The event was canceled by the publishers and Irving made no public appearance.
