Your Excellencies the Prime Minister, Ministers, MPs,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I rejoice to tell you the good news from Greece. At this very moment the neo-Nazi Greek party Golden Dawn is dealing with justice. All its leaders have been arrested and are awaiting trial.
We dared to break the serpents egg. We are proceeding now to a total crackdown, as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has pledged
It is a pleasure to be here, in the beautiful city of Budapest. A city where 200,000 Jews lived peacefully and prospered before Nazism reared its ugly head.
A city which is the birthplace of Tom Lantos, whose memory the Institute honors every day through its work aimed at promoting tolerance and support for minority issues.
I would like to thank the Tom Lantos Institute for inviting me here to address this select audience on issues that are of common interest. Greece also strives to promote tolerance and respect for human rights.
Dear friends,
In Greece, Greeks of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths have lived for centuries together. We value the contribution of the Jewish community to the social life of Greece throughout the ages and in all parts of the country, from Rhodes to Didimoticho.
We are proud, as Greeks, to have lived together with Jews for more than two thousand years. These are the famous Romaniotes, who even built a famous synagogue in New York, Kehila Kedosha Janina, and who immigrated from the beautiful city of Ioannina nearly a century ago in search of a better future.
I do not need to mention Thessaloniki, widely known as the “second Jerusalem,” with a very rich history throughout the ages. A great number of its inhabitants were Jews, living side by side with other ethnic communities. A city where up to 70,000 Jews lived before the Second World War.
Last March, we commemorated the 70th anniversary of the first deportations of Greek Jews from occupied Thessaloniki to the death camp in Auschwitz. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras made a historic speech at a Synagogue in Thessaloniki. Using as a leitmotiv the phrase “never again,” he sent a strong message to everyone, stressing that the Greek government will continue to show no tolerance for any resurgence of Anti-Semitism, or for any racist or xenophobic acts of violence.
Last July, during his visit to Auschwitz, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias, paid tribute to all the victims of the Nazis. The project to host a permanent Greek Exhibition at the Holocaust Museum in Auschwitz is underway.
A few days ago Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Venizelos sent a clear message, referring to the return of the specter of anti-Semitism. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that this is the moment to put an end to a threat that undermines peace and democracy, which have constituted the bedrock of Europe for the last 60 years.
Greece has always contributed actively to the international efforts to respect Holocaust remembrance.
A memorial for the Holocaust was created in Thessaloniki and Athens in 2010. The victims’ ordeal is taught in our schools as part of the history of humanity, but also of Greece. Furthermore, we honour the January international Holocaust Remembrance Day nationwide, by law and in practice.
Last January the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed a Special Representative for Holocaust issues.
We have been promoting several important projects, including the repatriation of archives and artifacts of Greek Jewish Communities, and cooperation with the Holocaust Museum in Washington. We strongly promote books, studies and conferences in order to examine what was perpetrated by the Nazis and to make sure that it never happens again.
Nowadays, our Jewish community is, for the above reasons, rather small. However, our Jewish compatriots have been particularly active during several recent contacts between the international Greek and Jewish Diasporas.
I would like to underline that in 2011 important legislative initiatives settled two long-outstanding issues of our Jewish community.
The first measure gave the option to Israeli citizens who were born in Greece up until 9 May 1945, and who now live in Israel, to regain their Greek citizenship. The second offered compensation for the old Jewish cemetery of Thessaloniki, which was destroyed by the Nazis.
Both laws were adopted by the vast majority of the Greek Parliament.
The Greek government unequivocally condemns any acts of intolerance and anti-Semitism.
We must stress that, in a period of deep economic and social crisis, and despite some extremist rhetoric in Greece, no anti-Semitic actions have taken place, as acknowledged by the leaders of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece themselves.
Greek Law punishes public incitement to violence or hatred by reference to race, colour, religion, national or ethnic origin and the commission of such acts.
The same goes for any conduct condoning or denying crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes
Still, we can never be vigilant enough. We have to educate our youth against hatred and racism. Greece is working effectively towards this end.
Education is the key. Historical knowledge. We have to know how the Holocaust and the other genocides happened, and we must ensure that they never take place again.
A couple of weeks ago, a pall was cast over the Greek people as the true, repulsive face of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn began to be revealed. A face hidden behind the veil of a parliamentary party. In reality, its members are sworn enemies of Democracy and its institutions. In Parliament they have had the opportunity to show that they renounce fascism. Instead, as I personally declared in the Hellenic Parliament ten days ago, they have constantly proven that they represent a criminal, Nazi organization.
Last August, the Greek Jewish leaders pointed out, at a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, that their community will support the Government’s initiatives to combat racism and anti-Semitism in Europe during the upcoming Greek EU Presidency.
We can do this together, with the guidance of European ideals and values.
Thank you very much for your attention.
October 2, 2013