During the Easter holidays, various customs take place in our country. One of these is the "burning of the effigy of Judas", which takes place in some areas of the country. This custom perpetuates stereotyped perceptions against the Jews. It is significant that the custom has almost been eliminated in the rest of Europe.

In the past, we, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, have repeatedly proceeded with representations to competent bodies in order to stop the custom in our country. The fact that the Church of Greece, with its Synodic Circulars of 1891, 1910 and 1918, demanded that "these customs are expressly forbidden" is of particular significance.

We believe that this custom not only offends the Greek Jewish community but also affects every effort towards the understanding and respect of common values ​​that characterise Judaism and Christianity. We hope that everyone will eventually contribute to the abolition of this custom that does not serve the spirit of love and reconciliation which is conveyed during the days of Easter.

Athens, 11 April  2018

Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece

Brutality struck again Paris, the “city of light” of the European civilization, with the murder of the 85year-old Mireille Knoll, a French Jewish woman and a Holocaust survivor. 

Some times there are no words fit to describe the grief and repugnance we feel, especially when a human being -who 74 years ago experienced the barbarity of the Nazis in the concentration camps and survived gas chambers- is brutally murdered in 2018. All people in Europe must realize that antisemitism may aim against the Jews but it does not end with the Jews. It threatens the fundamental principles of tolerance, religious freedom and equality, it threatens once more the very essence of European civilization. For this reason, Europe needs to timely and effectively fight against antisemitism in order not to mourn over more victims of fanaticism and intolerance.

The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece expresses the solidarity of the Greek Jews towards the French Jewish Community along with our deepest condolences to the family of Mireille Knoll.

On Friday night we celebrate Pessach, the festivity of the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt towards freedom. We do not forget slavery, we do not forget the hardships our people endured through the millennia of its historic course. On Friday night we will light a candle in the memory of Mireille Knoll.

Athens, March 28, 2018

Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece

The Municipality of Arta, a city in North-western Greece, on the occasion of the 74 years since the arrest and deportation (March 24^th, 1944) of 480 members of the local Jewish Community  by the Nazis, organized for second consecutive year a series of events dedicated to their memory.  Only 30 Jews survived the Holocaust.

In his speech the Mayor of Arta Mr Christos Tsirogiannis mentioned that “the Community’s historical memory is kept unchanged and the descendants of its members, many of whom are here among us, still keep ties with the homeland of their ancestors. It is a journey through time from which we learn our city’s history. This gives us strength for the future”. The Mayor of Arta also thanked the representatives of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and the Greek Jewish Communities for participating in the events, as well as the “Skoufas” Cultural Association for hosting the main event and all those who attended the events. 

The events begun on Saturday morning with a tour at the former Jewish quarter of Arta and in the evening the main event took place at the Cultural Center of “Skoufas” Association with the presentation of the history of the former Jewish Community of Arta by the lawyer – graphologist and researcher Theocharis Vadivoulis. During the main event addresses were delivered held by the Minister of Administrative Reform Mrs Olga Gerovasili, the Vice-President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece Mr Viktor Eliezer, the President of “Skoufas” Mr Nikolaos Bantaloukas, the Secretary General of the Athens Jewish Community Mr Joseph Mizan and the author Mr Dimitris Vlachopanos author of the book “ISAAK MIZAN – ARM NUMBER 182641”.