By Victor Isaak Eliezer*

The waves of the anti-vaccination advocates are not harmless. They base their arguments on conspiracy theories, prejudices and stereotypes, with absolutely no scientific justification. Vaccination is considered as a threat to the national and religious identity of the nation.

Flags and religious symbols are integral "tools" of the anti-vaccination campaign and the protests of the anti-vaccination supporters. The phenomenon is spreading rapidly in France, Germany, Italy and in Greece.

The use of violence is part of the planning of the demonstrations, in order to ensure their widest possible coverage in the media and on the internet. The far right, which has longed to seize every opportunity to promote fascist and Nazi ideals, does not hesitate to adopt the argumentation of the anti-vaccination supporters, in order to appear once again as the pre-eminent anti-systemic movement, even organizing “task forces” which aim to spread fear and panic.

"In modern European Greece, but also in democratic Thessaloniki, there is no room for fascism and Nazism. Those who make the mistake of insisting on these practices should know that history will remind them of what happened," the Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, said on Sunday October 10, 2021, during his visit to the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki while assuring the Jewish communities of Europe that the European Union will support them in the face of modern threats. Schinas sent a clear message that Thessaloniki is a European metropolis in which there is no room for rhetorical hatred.

Thessaloniki will always remain a European metropolis of extroversion, democracy, peaceful coexistence, and dialogue. "A European metropolis where raiding battalions, rhetoric and symbols of hatred do not fit."
Schinas' visit to Thessaloniki and the Jewish Museum is of particular importance as it took place a few days after the presentation of the EU's first strategy to fight anti-Semitism and preserve Jewish life, which was emphasized by the European Commission Vice-President.

"As Vice President, I want to assure the Jewish communities in Europe that the EU will not leave them unprotected from the many modern threats that are overshadowing their lives today. We will guarantee their safety, we will strengthen their education and culture, we will do everything to preserve the historical memory of the Holocaust, especially now that the last survivors are leaving us without their personal stories," Schinas underlined.

Mr. David Saltiel, the President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece and of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, welcomed and accompanied Mr. Schinas to the tour of the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki. Mr. Saltiel expressed the appreciation of the world Jewry for the “remarkable work in support of the Jewish Communities in Europe” achieved by the EC Vice President. “It is our duty to promote knowledge and research, educate the young people so that they are immune to neo-Nazi ideologies, because these ideas abolish human rights and the very values of humanism”, said Mr. Saltiel. “We must continue our fight against fascism, racism and antisemitism. This Museum is a pillar of knowledge. The schools that visit it learn about the history of the Holocaust, while educational trips to the Museum of Auschwitz are organized so that the youngsters realize the magnitude of the Holocaust. As years go by and the survivors pass away, the duty to preserve memory and fight antisemitism passes on to us”, Saltiel stressed.