The Monument dedicated to the Jewish cemetery situated in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki was once more target of hideous vandalism. A swastika was sprayed on the grave that symbolizes the sacredness of the Jewish cemetery -one of the oldest in Europe- which was destroyed in 1942 by the Nazis and their collaborators, as well as the annihilation of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, the largest in Greece, during the Holocaust. The marble dedication of the Monument was also desecrated with a fascist symbol.

With the stain of the horrific Nazi swastika and a fascist-inspired graffiti we bid farewell to 2022, a year during which no incidents of vandalism of Jewish sites were registered in Greece. We condemn the unholy act of the vandals, followers of intolerance and antisemitism that express their hatred and fanaticism through the profanation of the memory of the Salonican Jews. No tolerance to antisemitism!

We call on the Law enforcement authorities to be mobilized in order to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to Justice.

Athens, December 29, 2022

Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece