WJC, NEW YORK 17.12.2018: The World Jewish Congress stands with our affiliated community, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, in strongly condemning the desecration of the Holocaust Monument in Thessaloniki over the weekend, for the fourth time this year.

“The World Jewish Congress unequivocally condemns the shameful and repeated desecration of the Holocaust monument in Thessaloniki,” said WJC CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer. “It is alarming and disgraceful that a monument honoring the memory of Jews who perished in the Holocaust should become a routine target for those espousing vile expressions of hatred and antisemitism.”

“We are extremely concerned by the steady rise of antisemitic vandalism facing the Jewish community in Greece and elsewhere in Europe. This desecration, as well as the vandalization of cemeteries in Poland and in France in the past week alone, should ring alarm bells for anyone who believes that these incidents are isolated and passing.

“These attacks are all the more urgent and concerning following the European Union’s recent FRA report that found that a shocking 89 percent of Jews in Europe are worried by the rise of antisemitism, and that 40 percent fear physical violence.

“We urge the authorities in Europe to make good on their December 6 declaration to fight antisemitism and develop a common security approach to protect Jewish communities, and to take every possible measure to curb this wave of incitement. We will continue to stand with our communities in Greece and across Europe in working to eradicate such demonstrations once and for all,” Singer said.

SOURCE: WJC, 17.12.2018