Holocaust Remembrance Day of Greek Jews

The event of the Consulate General of Greece in New York and the American Friends of the Jewish Museum of Athens on the Holocaust Remembrance Day of Greek Jews, held with great success on January 18th at Hebrew College in New York.

The keynote speaker at the event was Beatrice Saias Magrizou, author of the book "The Bracelet of Fire", which describes the story of the annihilation of the Jews of Thessaloniki during the Second World War through the narrative of her father, who lived through the experience of the German concentration camps, managed to survive, and told it to his daughter shortly before his death.  

Α lot of distinguished guests were present at the crowded event. Among them were the Acting Consul General of Israel Aviv Ezra, the President of the American Friends of the Jewish Museum of Athens Solomon Asser, and  Rabbi Diana S. Gerson, the Executive Advisor of Alma Bank Nancy Papaioannouand the  Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America V.Rev.Archimandrite Nektarios Papazafiropoulos, representing Archbishop Elpidophoros.

In his address, the Consul General of Greece in New York, Ambassador Mr. Dinos Konstantinou, mentioned that the purpose of the event is to honor the memory of the 6 million Jews and other victims of the Holocaust, including 70,000 Greek Jews, who constituted 85% of the historic Jewish community of Greece, which has always been an integral part of the Greek Nation.

He also added that today minorities around the world are targeted based on their racial, religious, ethnic, or sexual identity, public debate is plagued by neo-Nazi rhetoric and conspiracy theories, while hate speech and stereotypes are particularly prevalent on social media. For this reason, he stressed that it is our historical duty and obligation to tackle anti-Semitism, racism, discrimination, and intolerance.

Introducing the keynote speaker of the event, Mr. Konstantinou stressed the importance of preserving the memory of the Holocaust, especially in a world full of deniers and those who try to diminish its importance, as well as the transmission of the history of these tragic events to younger generations so as to consolidate the "never again" and prevent its future repetition.

The event was also addressed by Acting Consul General of Israel Aviv Ezra, and the President of the American Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece Solomon Asser. Afterwards, a three-minute video was shown from the series "The Bracelet of Fire" based on the book of the same name by Beatrice Saias Magrizou, which will begin airing on the ERTflix platform.

The emotion peaked when Beatrice Saias Magrizou described the story of the persecution her family suffered as told by her father shortly before he passed away.