The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, in a recent statement, has expressed renewed concern over a series of serious incidents in Athens and other parts of the country, which it said were aimed at intimidating and terrorising Israeli tourists and individuals wearing Jewish symbols or speaking Hebrew.
The Board stressed that criticising — even strongly criticising — the actions of the Israeli Government and statements made by government officials does not in itself constitute antisemitism. However, it warned that the recent incidents went far beyond legitimate criticism.
It expressed particular concern over the actions of organised groups targeting “Israelis and Zionists”, which it said no longer hesitated to threaten physical violence and use slogans evoking the most vulgar forms of Judeophobic propaganda. The Board also condemned what it described as the use of the defamatory accusation of genocide to intimidate and terrorise Jewish people.
According to the statement, attacks against individuals with Israeli citizenship and those wearing Jewish symbols, as well as the obstruction of Israeli tourists at various ports across the country, constitute blatant violations of the law and of the principles of hospitality and freedom of movement.
The Board called on the Greek State to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of citizens and visitors from all forms of racist and antisemitic violence and to bring the perpetrators before the Greek courts. It further urged political and social institutions to condemn such incidents, warning that they undermine democracy, the rule of law and Greece’s image as a safe country for all.
The statement concluded by emphasising that tolerance of antisemitism and hate speech has no place in modern Greek society, stressing that while antisemitism may begin with attacks against Jews, it never ends with Jews.
