The European Jewish Congress (EJC) said Wednesday that it was repulsed by the “intolerable hate-filled and anti-Semitic rant” of a leading Greek priest who blamed world Jewry for the country’s financial problems.
“It is completely unacceptable that someone senior in a mainstream European religious denomination can make such repulsive and hate-filled claims” EJC President Moshe Kantor said. “That they were said so openly on national television demonstrates that there are those who feel no shame expressing these views in front of a wide audience.”
“In addition, creating public awareness of this threat, as well as a concerted education program are also useful preventive tools.”
The EJC has already met with French President François Hollande and has meetings scheduled in the coming weeks with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and the Prime Minister of Spain, to discuss these issues and receive their cooperation and assistance.
The EJC plan was well-received by the Czech Prime Minister who stated that he will endorse this initiative and agreed to lead it and promote it amongst other leaders in Europe. “We thanked Prime Minister Necas for his endorsement and noted the low levels of anti-Semitism in the Czech Republic. We hope that this can serve as a model for other parts of Europe” Kantor said.
The EJC meeting came ahead of the Government to Government (G2G) talks that were held the following day between Czech and Israeli members of government.
“The G2G talks are a very strong statement of support and cooperation between the Czech and Israeli leadership and we add our gratitude to the Czech Government for their support of Israel”; Kantor said. “It is important that a strong message is sent out that the delegitimization of Israel is akin to the New Anti-Semitism and has no place in Europe.”
