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Greece Has Supported Israel Amid War with Hamas; But Will It Last?

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen speaks during a press conference with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis at the Foreign Ministry in Athens, Greece, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Louiza Vradi

The October 7 terrorist attack orchestrated by Hamas against Israel generated a wave of solidarity for the Jewish State in Greece.

In his tweet immediately after the attack, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis condemned the “atrocious terrorist attack against Israel, causing a high number of casualties among civilians,” and added that the Greeks “stand by the people of Israel and fully support its right to self- defense.” President Katerina Sakellaropoulou’s tweet contained similar content.

The stance of SYRIZA, the main opposition party, was also supportive, if to a milder degree. Ιn his message, Stefanos Kasselakis, the new SYRIZA leader who replaced Alexis Tsipras, condemned Hamas and said he considers its actions potential war crimes. However, he expressed opposition to Israel’s “revenge logic.”

Premier Mitsotakis paid a visit to Israel on October 23 to express Greece’s sympathy and solidarity with Israel to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Prior to this visit, the two leaders had met in Nicosia in early September on the occasion of the ninth trilateral summit of Greece, Israel, and Cyprus. The joint statement issued at that time stressed, inter alia, the need to “step up the efforts to curb terrorism and hold all entities which promote and sponsor it accountable.”

On October 23, while in Jerusalem, Mitsotakis reiterated Greece’s position regarding the war. Although he expressed his hope for a limited humanitarian cost in Israel’s military operations, he sent a clear message to Benjamin Netanyahu and to Israeli citizens: “You can count on our support, on our help.”

It is worth noting that while in Israel, the Greek prime minister did not go to Ramallah to meet the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. By contrast, French president Emmanuel Macron, who visited Israel a day after Mitsotakis, did make an additional stop in the West Bank.

Greece’s understanding of Israeli security considerations was echoed at the UN level on October 26. When the General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas, Greece abstained.

Fourteen other EU member states also opted to abstain: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden.

This UN vote sparked a tense political debate in Greece. The aforementioned leader of the main opposition, Stefanos Kasselakis, criticized the Greek government. In a tweet, he characterized Greece’s decision to abstain as “a day of shame for Greek diplomacy, the Greek people and their history.”

For her part, President Sakellaropoulou embarked on an emotional initiative to demonstrate her support for Israel. On November 7, she welcomed members of the families of Israeli hostages who had been abducted by Hamas to the presidential mansion. As she said, the events of October 7 represent a trauma to the collective conscience of humanity and constitute some of the most serious war crimes ever committed, and the perpetrators must face the consequences.

The Greek Israeli community also organized an event at the Athens Concert Hall further disseminating the “Bring Them Home” message. The event was attended by Israeli Ambassador to Greece Noam Katz.

In contrast to the month of October, November and December saw the Greek government place more emphasis on the humanitarian dimension of the Israel-Hamas war.

In an interview with Politico Magazine on November 9, Prime Minister Mitsotakis said that while Israel’s right to self-defense is unquestionable, “how it does so actually matters, and it matters considerably.”

Against this backdrop, Greece started delivering humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza via Egypt. On that same day, shortly before participating in the Paris international humanitarian conference for Gaza’s civilian population, Premier Mitsotakis met with his Palestinian counterpart, Mohammad Ibrahim Shtayyeh. At that meeting he expressed Greece’s determination to help with the creation of a humanitarian corridor and underlined the country’s longstanding support for a two-state solution.

The next week, on November 16, Minister of Foreign Affairs George Gerapetritis went to the West Bank to talk with Palestinian officials.

On December 12, the UN General Assembly adopted another resolution demanding an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” and this time Greece voted in favor.

Many other EU member states that had abstained in October also changed their stance, namely Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, and Sweden. The decision by Greece partly echoed its desire to align its policy with that of most EU member states. In December, the majority of member states (17) voted in favor, whereas in October, the majority abstained (15).

Notwithstanding the adjustment of Greece’s position in the December UN vote, its overall understanding of the situation has caused it to preserve its pro-Israel position since October 7. It is indicative that when a building adjacent to the St. Porphyrius Monastery in Gaza was hit during the hostilities, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a neutral statement calling for the protection of civilians and the security of places of worship and religious institutions.

On the whole, Greek public opinion has endorsed the government’s policy on the Israel-Hamas war, according to a survey conducted in December. This poll showed that 43.4% of respondents evaluated this policy positively and 41.9% negatively.

Most respondents (43.1%) held a negative view on the stance of the opposition, while a lower percentage (35.1%) had a positive opinion. Also, 47.4% said they consider Hamas a terrorist organization, with 17% calling it a resistance group. More respondents (30.9%) believe the Palestinians to be “right” on the Palestinian question than the Israelis (17.3%) — a typical tendency in Greek society, which has deep historical roots.

In tandem with its alignment with EU policy, the Greek government is also responding to domestic public opinion trends. A survey that was conducted at the beginning of November, days after the first UN vote, showed that a majority of citizens (46.3%) did not favor the government’s position while 34.8% were in accord. The Greek government is likely to continue to showcase its solidarity with Israel without ignoring the suffering of Gazans.

Dr. George N. Tzogopoulos is a BESA contributor, a lecturer at the European Institute of Nice (CIFE) and at the Democritus University of Thrace, and a Senior Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy. A version of this article was originally published by The BESA Center.

The post Greece Has Supported Israel Amid War with Hamas; But Will It Last? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Jewish Synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Vandalized in Poland After Politician Denies Holocaust

An antisemitic slur spray-painted on the ruins of a former synagogue in Dukla, Poland. Photo: World Jewish Restitution Organization

Two Jewish sites in Dukla, Poland, were vandalized over the weekend mere days after Polish member of the European Parliament (MEP) Grzegorz Braun claimed gas chambers at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp were fake and repeated an antisemitic blood libel in a live radio interview.

Vandals spray-painted the word “F–k” followed by a Star of David on the ruins of a former synagogue that was destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and a memorial commemorating Holocaust victims located at the entrance of the Jewish cemetery in Dukla was defaced with a swastika and the word “Palestine,” according to the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO). The memorial honors Jews of Dukla and the surrounding areas who were murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust.

The two Jewish sites in Dukla are cared for by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ), which was established in 2002 by the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland and the WJRO to protect and commemorate Poland’s Jewish heritage sites.

“These hateful acts are not only antisemitic, but they are also attempts to erase Jewish history and desecrate memory,” said WJRO President Gideon Taylor in a released statement on Tuesday. “Polish authorities must take swift and serious action to identify the perpetrators and ensure the protection of Jewish heritage sites in Dukla and across the country.”

“The vandalism of Jewish sites in Dukla—with swastikas and anti-Israel slurs—is not an isolated act,” insisted Jack Simony, director general of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF), in a statement to The Algemeiner. The nonprofit focuses on preserving the memory of the Jewish community in Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and maintains the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the last remaining synagogue in town.

“While we cannot say definitively that it [the vandalism] was sparked by Grzegorz Braun’s Holocaust denial, his rhetoric contributes to an atmosphere where hatred is emboldened and truth is under assault,” added Simony. “Braun’s lies are not harmless — they are dangerous. Holocaust denial fuels antisemitism and, too often, violence. This is why Holocaust education matters … because when we fail to confront lies, we invite their consequences. Memory must be defended, not only for the sake of the past, but for the safety of our future.”

On July 10, a ceremony was held commemorating the 84th anniversary of the 1941 Jedwabne massacre, when hundreds of Polish Jews were massacred – mostly by their neighbors – in the northeastern town in German-occupied Poland. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries and faith leaders including Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich and Israeli Deputy Ambassador Bosmat Baruch. Groups of anti-Israel and far-right activists — including MEP Braun and his supporters – tried to disrupt the event by holding banners with antisemitic slogans and blocking the vehicles of the attendees, according to Polish radio.

Hours later, during a live radio broadcast, Braun falsely claimed the Auschwitz gas chambers were “a lie” and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum was promoting “pseudo-history.” He also claimed that Jewish “ritual murder is a fact.” Polish prosecutors launched an investigation into Braun’s comments, they announced that same day. Under Article 55 of the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), Holocaust denial is a criminal offense in Poland.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum issued a swift condemnation of Braun’s remarks and said it intents to pursue legal action. The Institute of National Remembrance — which is the largest research, educational and archival institution in Poland – also denounced Braun’s remarks, saying there is “well-documented” evidence supporting the existence of gas chambers. His comments were also condemned by the Embassy of Israel in Poland, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and the US Embassy in Warsaw, which said that his actions “distort history, desecrate memory, or spread antisemitism.” AJCF called on the European Parliament to consider disciplinary measures against Braun, including potential censure or expulsion.

Auschwitz Jewish Center Director Tomek Kuncewicz said Braun’s comments are “an act of violence against truth, against survivors, and against the legacy of our shared humanity.” AJCF Chairman Simon Bergson called the politician’s remarks “blatant and baseless lies,” while Simony described them as “a calculated act of antisemitic incitement” that “must be met with legal consequences and universal moral condemnation.”

The post Jewish Synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Vandalized in Poland After Politician Denies Holocaust first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Coalition of 400 Jewish Orgs and Synagogues Urge Teachers Union to Reverse Decision Cutting Ties with ADL

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. Photo Credit: ADL.

Following a vote by the National Education Association (NEA) on July 6 to end its relationship with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 400 Jewish communal groups, education organizations, and religious institutions have come together to call for the influential teachers union to change course.

“We are writing to express our deep concerns about the growing level of antisemitic activity within teachers’ unions, particularly since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023,” the letter to NEA President Becky Pringle stated. “Passage of New Business Item (NBI) 39 at the National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly this past weekend, which shockingly calls for the boycott of the Anti-Defamation League, is just the latest example of open hostility toward Jewish educators, students and families coming from national and local teachers’ unions and their members.”

In addition to the ADL, signatories of the letter included American Jewish Committee (AJC), Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Jewish Federations of North America, #EndJewHatred, American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith International, CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis), Combat Antisemitism Movement, Democratic Majority for Israel, StandWithUs, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Zioness Movement, and Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).

The group told Pringle that “we have heard directly from NEA members who have shared their experiences ranging from explicit and implicit antisemitism within the union to a broader pattern of insensitivity toward legitimate concerns of Jewish members – including at the recently concluded Representative Assembly. We are also deeply troubled by a broader pattern of union activity over the past 20 months that has targeted or alienated Jewish members and the wider Jewish community.”

The letter to Pringle included an addendum providing examples of objectionable rhetoric. These named such incidents as the Oakland Education Association (OEA) putting out a statement calling for “an end to the occupation of Palestine” and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) accusing Israel of genocide.

The coalition of 400 organizations urged the NEA to “take immediate action” and suggested such steps as rejecting NBI 39, issuing a “strong condemnation” of antisemitism within the union, drafting a plan to counter ongoing antisemitism in affiliate chapters, and opposing “any effort to use an educator’s support for the existence of Israel as a means to attack their identity.”

ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on X that “Excluding @ADL’s educational resources from schools is not just an attack on our org, but on the entire Jewish community. We urge the @NEAToday Executive Committee to reverse this biased, fringe effort and reaffirm its commitment to supporting all Jewish students and educators.”

The post Coalition of 400 Jewish Orgs and Synagogues Urge Teachers Union to Reverse Decision Cutting Ties with ADL first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Zohran Mamdani Won’t Condemn Calls for Violence Against Jews; Why Are Jewish Leaders Supporting Him?

Zohran Mamdani Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

In the wake of Zohran Mamdani’s surge in New York City politics, a disturbing trend has emerged: prominent Jewish leaders are being urged to join “Jews for Zohran,” a newly formed effort to legitimize a candidate whose record and rhetoric are alarmingly out of step with Jewish communal values.

In a city that’s home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel — and where antisemitic incidents are on the rise — this is a profound mistake.

Mamdani has refused to explicitly condemn the slogan “Globalize the Intifada,” which has been widely understood as a call to violence against Jews. His defenders insist it’s a symbolic plea for Palestinian rights. But nuance offers little comfort when the phrase glorifies violent uprisings, and is routinely chanted alongside calls for Israel’s destruction.

Institutions such as the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and watchdogs like StopAntisemitism.org have made it clear: attempts to sanitize violent language must be firmly rejected.

Mamdani’s vocal support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is equally troubling. BDS does not merely critique Israeli policy; it seeks to economically isolate and politically delegitimize the Jewish state. When a candidate stands against the most visible symbol of Jewish survival — Israel — while brushing off violent slogans as misunderstood metaphors, we must ask what message this sends to our communities.

The answer should be clear. Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of over half the city’s reported hate crimes last year. From Crown Heights to Midtown, visible Jews have been harassed, assaulted, and mocked. Mamdani was flagged by national antisemitism monitors in December for promoting material that mocked Hanukkah. This is not abstract. This is personal, present, and dangerous.

Yes, Mamdani has pledged to increase hate crime funding from $3 million to $26 million. But that’s not enough. The Jewish community — especially now — needs more than budgetary gestures. We require moral clarity, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel powerfully stated: “Morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself….”

Moral clarity demands more than financial promises, it requires principled rejection of rhetoric that endangers Jews. Belonging isn’t forged by slogans; it’s proven through sustained empathy, shared responsibility, and unwavering commitment to safety.

Calls for Jewish leaders to publicly support Mamdani, including those made to officials like Brad Lander and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), aim to provide political cover for a candidate whose worldview clashes with core Jewish values. These aren’t harmless endorsements. They’re symbols. And symbols matter.

Endorsing Mamdani sends a troubling signal: that political convenience or progressive branding outweighs communal safety and historical memory. When Jewish leaders align with someone who flirts with the delegitimization of Jewish statehood and refuses to condemn slogans rooted in violence, they are telling our adversaries that our moral lines are negotiable.

New York’s Jewish community has long been a moral compass in American politics. What happens here echoes across the nation. If our leaders can be cajoled into supporting a candidate like Mamdani, what message does that send to Jews in swing districts, smaller cities, and across college campuses? It normalizes equivocation. It emboldens the fringe. It tells the next generation that Jewish dignity is up for debate.

This is about more than Mamdani. It’s about whether Jewish pride and Jewish safety remain non-negotiable pillars of our political participation. Some have argued that this is simply politics as usual — that strategic alliances are part of coalition-building. But the Jewish people know better than most that what begins as a small compromise can metastasize into a much greater danger.

Former Democratic Councilman Rory Lancman said it best: “If ever there was a time to put principle over party, this is it.” He’s right. And that’s why this moment requires Jewish leaders to speak not just as political actors, but as moral stewards.

Jewish leaders are free to engage with any candidate they choose. But engagement is not endorsement. One can listen, challenge, and debate without aligning oneself publicly with a candidate whose positions cross communal red lines. Outreach does not require complicity.

If Jewish political figures join “Jews for Zohran,” they risk helping mainstream dangerous ideologies. They risk fracturing communal unity even further at a time when Jewish communal unity is our best defense. They risk allowing today’s ambiguity to become tomorrow’s regret.

Jewish history teaches us the cost of silence, of appeasement, and of looking away. We cannot afford those mistakes again — not in this city, not in this era; history is beginning to repeat itself and we cannot allow that to happen.

To every Jewish leader now weighing their public stance: choose principle. Choose safety. Choose the kind of moral leadership our tradition demands; reject the logic of “Jews for Zohran.” The stakes are too high — and the message matters.

Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

The post Zohran Mamdani Won’t Condemn Calls for Violence Against Jews; Why Are Jewish Leaders Supporting Him? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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