AJC continues to mourn the tragic death of George Floyd, whose life was crushed out of him May 25 under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, while three other officers stood by and watched, if not abetted, this harrowing act of murder. He was the latest victim of a chronic and insidious affliction. We condemn the wanton acts of vandalism and violence committed by a small minority of those taking to the streets in protest across America – acts that dishonor the memory of George Floyd, whose death in police custody brought a country besieged by contagion and economic misery to yet another rendezvous with its history of racial injustice. Those who disrupt and subvert peaceful protest set back, not advance, the cause of racial justice. 

What must not be obscured by the lawless behavior of some on our streets is the larger context: the unfinished journey of America’s progress toward racial equality – toward finally healing this great nation’s 400-year wound of slavery, suffering, and discrimination. Now, as we mourn yet another needless death of an African American in police custody, we and our fellow citizens confront once again the most fundamental questions about our society, the enduring gap between its principles and lived realities, and what additional steps we must take to fulfill its laudable promise.

The Greek Jewry hailed the 30^th anniversary of full diplomatic relations between Greece and Israel during a teleconference convened by the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS), on May 25, 2020. The meeting, which was attended by the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, the Israeli ambassador to Greece Yossi Amrani, KIS President David Saltiel and the Board of Directors, representatives of the Greek Jewish Communities, as well as KIS’s past Presidents Benjamin Albalas and Nissim Mais, included the presentation of the digital on-line album entitled “30 YEARS OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN GREECE AND ISRAEL, 1990 – 2020. A TIMELINE – The Milestones of a productive cooperation”, edited by KIS (May 2020).  

KIS President David Saltiel in his opening remarks pointed out the role of the Greek Jewry in the relations between the two countries, with special reference to relevant important ongoing projects, as the Holocaust Museum and the programme of cultural events for 2021, when Greece will celebrate the 200 years of its independence and will assume the chairmanship of the IHRA. “The Greek Jews feel as the bridge that unites the two philosophies that shaped our civilization: the Greek philosophy, that founded the principles of democracy and freedom and the Jewish philosophy, that founded the principles of monotheism, justice, solidarity and humanism”, stressed David Saltiel and continued: “Today Greece and Israel cooperate multifariously for the prosperity of their people, for the stability and peace in the sensitive region of the Eastern Mediterranean. Mr Minister and Mr Ambassador, KIS was, is and will remain a supporter of this cooperation boosting every effort that brings closer the people of the two countries”, Saltiel concluded.