The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, the country’s Jewish umbrella organisation and EJC affiliate, has unreservedly condemned the attack against the Patriarch of Jerusalem in Bethlehem upon his arrival in the city for the Feast of Epiphany.
In a statement, the Central Board expressed “the abhorrence of Greek Jewry for the violence that has occurred and we feel it is necessary to stress once again that fanaticism, violence and intimidation cannot in any way be accepted or become acceptable methods for supporting a position.”
On Saturday, hundreds of Palestinians blocked Patriarch Theophilos III’s convoy as he drove to a church in Bethlehem to attend an Orthodox Christmas mass.
Protestors threw stones and water bottles and pounded his car with their fists, chanting “traitor, traitor,” before Palestinian security forces pushed them away. Three cars in the convoy, but not the Patriarch’s vehicle, had their windows smashed.
