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Friday, 02 April 2021 12:55 |
  Today, 1 April, the IHRA Presidency will be handed over from Germany to Greece. This means that the outgoing Chair, Ambassador Michaela Küchler, will take on a supportive role as a member of the Troika, which comprises last year’s, this year’s and next year’s IHRA Chairs. (Watch HERE the remarks of Ambassador Kuchler regarding the German Presidency of IHRA)Normally, handovers are marked by ceremonies hosted at an embassy in the incoming Presidency’s country. However, this year, in keeping with the digital spirit of the past year and in lieu of an in-person ceremony, the outgoing and incoming Chairs prepared Handover Videos. These provide great insight into the promising plans for the future and the fruitful efforts of the past.
Ambassador Michaela Küchler outlined the challenges and successes of this unprecedented year. “Being able to work together across time zones, from Winnipeg to Berlin to Melbourne, required more than just a working microphone and a stable internet connection,” she said. “It required all of us to want to get something done. And we did.”
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Tuesday, 23 March 2021 14:23 |
.jpg) “Freedom requires virtue and boldness”, it is with these verses of the poet Andreas Calvos that Greeks made headway and built modern Greece, a State that unites roots and tradition with Philosophy, Letters and Arts. Greece fought and managed to resist against its enemies protecting the values of National Independence, Freedom and Democracy.
The Greek Jewry, an integral part of the Greek people, was active in the formation of the modern Greek State.
We struggled together during the Balkan wars and fought to gain our freedom in the First World War. All together we resisted against Fascism and Nazism in the Second World War striving to maintain our common principles and stop barbarism.
We participated by boosting the cultural evolution of our homeland, in poetry, literature, historic research, arts and theatre.
We contributed to the economic and scientific growth of our country, commerce and industrial progress, architecture, education, jurisprudence and medicine.
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Friday, 26 March 2021 09:46 |
 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.
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Wednesday, 24 March 2021 14:58 |
 In letters to their Greek counterparts, the President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the Knesset and Foreign Minister of Israel congratulated Greece for the 200th Anniversary of its War of Independence. Specifically, in a letter to his Greek counterpart, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, among other things says: “When we celebrate your national day, we are also celebrating the profound contribution of Greece to global values and culture. Today’s world is safer and more stable when it follows the principles of democracy. It is richer and more reasoned when it draws from the well of philosophy.”
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a letter to the Greek Premier, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, among other things states that: “Since winning independence the modern Hellenic Republic has successfully established itself as a vital part both of the European and Mediterranean regions, allowing Greece to be a crucial bridge between nations while always cherishing your own unique spirit and rich heritage of which you are justifiably proud.” He adds that: “as representatives of two countries who can trace their roots back to antiquity and who share the values of democracy and freedom, I look forward to continuing to work closely to expand even further the already excellent ties of friendship between our two governments and peoples.”
The Speaker of the Knesset, Yariv Levin, in a letter to the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Konstantinos Tassoulas, said he has the honor to congratulate the Greek people on the occasion of the 200th anniversary since the Greek war of Independence. He adds that with great satisfaction “I note the excellent collaborations and special friendship our parliaments enjoy which are based on the common commitment to the values of democracy, pluralism and human rights.”
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The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece is very pleased to welcome the handover of the Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) to Greece.