WJC President, Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder, addressed the following letter to the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Greece’s independence:

New York, March 24, 2021. The World Jewish Congress, the representative body of Jewish communities in more than 100 countries around the globe, would like to congratulate the people of Greece on the occasion of the 200th Independence Day.

The modern and democratic nation of Greece has been a bastion of freedom and liberty, an inspiration of all us who strive for equality, progress and peace.

Greeks and Jews share many common elements. From our homeland, in nearby corners of the Eastern Mediterranean, to our common search for knowledge, science and artistic creation. Both diasporic nations, Greeks and Jews lived together, cooperated, exchanged and traded for centuries. We have also both fought side by side against those who rose to threaten equal human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence.

Winston Churchill summarized this spirit best when he said “No two cities have counted more with mankind than Athens and Jerusalem. Their messages in religion, philosophy, and art have been the main guiding lights of modern faith and culture.”

Our two peoples are destined to live side by side and share common struggles against tyranny and oppression. From it’s roots as one of the most ancient and remarkable Jewish communities in the world to the flourishing Greek—Israel ties of today, Greece for the Jewish people has always been an ideal, a vision, and a safe haven.

Dear Prime Minister, please accept my sincere wishes for your bicentennial and may our brotherly Greek nation go from strength to strength, as said in the biblical verse.

With my warmest regards,

Ronald S. Lauder

President WJC

Relevant:

- WJC Tweet on the occasion of the bicentennary of Greece's independence