“The anticipated victory of Obama in US elections signals the end of the Jewish domination - Everything changes in USA and we hope that it will be more democratic and humane”. So said today’s headline of the Greek newspaper Avriani - which, as David T observes, is a mainstream daily. In response, the American Jewish Committee, which sponsors Z Word, issued the following statement:
AJC Appalled by Greek Newspaper’s Unabashed anti-Semitism
November 4, 2008 - New York - The American Jewish Committee expressed anger at the front-page headline in today’s issue of Avriani, a mainstream daily newspaper in Greece.
The newspaper’s headline, in bold letters, read: “The anticipated victory of Obama in the U.S. elections signals the end of Jewish domination. Everything changes in the USA and we hope that it will be more democratic and humane.”
“This vile and scurrilous headline draws on classic anti-Semitic canards of Jewish conspiracy and domination,” said AJC Executive Director David A. Harris. “How could any responsible media outlet peddle such outright nonsense?”
Harris added: “Opinion polls consistently show that Senator Obama will receive from two-thirds to three-fourths of the votes of American Jews. Thus, according to the newspaper’s perverse logic, Jews are voting overwhelmingly for ‘the end of Jewish domination.’ In reality, Jews, like other Americans, celebrate democracy, participate in the political system across the spectrum, and engage in a wide range of civic activity. To suggest something darker and more sinister is to distort reality beyond recognition and fan the flames of religious and ethnic hatred.”
“We fully recognize that Greece, as a democracy, enjoys freedom of the press,” Harris concluded, “and we also understand that the views of Avriani - which has a history of anti-Semitic agitation - are its own, not the nation’s. In that spirit, we hope to hear the voices of those in Greece who recognize these views for what they are - unabashed anti-Semitism.”
AJC and the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece have been longstanding partners. AJC has often visited Greece, met with its leaders, and sought to build strong bonds of friendship, while also maintaining close ties with the Greek Orthodox Church and the Greek-American community.
Here’s are a couple of thumbnail images of the offending front page.
Did any one bother to tell that the Greek paper reporter than Obama’s wife’s cousin is an Orthodox Jew?
Have they bothered to look at this?
http://www.rabbisforobama.com/
“US rabbis launch campaign for Obama
Jewish religious leaders join forces in support of Democratic candidate. ‘With his tough but pragmatic approach to Iran, Senator Obama is in best position to restore faith in America,’ they say” by Yitzhak Benhorin
http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3594972,00.html
It’s sometime hard to tell if Jew haters are just stupid or just insane? They certainly let their wishes guide their thinking.
This will go a long way to explain Avrian’s headlines:
“Anti-Semitism in Greece, although not violent and institutionalized, is not a marginal ideology of a minority but is embedded in the mainstream society and manifests itself in religious contexts, education, politics and the media.
Recent research showed that 24% of Greeks do not want to have a Jew as a neighbour.
The Greek mainstream media is one of the most fiercely anti-Israeli in Europe.
Around 4,000 Jews live today in Greece.”
http://www.ejpress.org/article/20149
Paula’s comments are right on. The driving force of Greek antisemitism is the Orthodox Church which still holds the view that the Jews are guilty of deicide.
“ADL Urges Orthodox Christian Churches To Excise Anti-Semitism From Liturgy
New York, NY, June 6, 2007 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is urging the world’s Orthodox Christian leaders to support a Christian proposal to excise ancient anti-Semitic passages from their liturgy….”
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ChJew_31/5069_31.htm
These views have been embedded in Greek culture since ancient times.
Politicians and intellectuals are too sophisticated to say so openly but this is a major reason for their anti-Israel views.
Considering who the architects of Obama’s sweep to power are, wouldn’t it be more realistic to declare the very opposite?
“To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen,”
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Text-Obamas-victory-speech/story.aspx?guid=%7B904D7489-E1EF-4345-96C0-4D2381EC5125%7D
I just wanna share some of my (and many other’s) thoughts about this newspaper. It’s an obscenely populist libellous “Daily Dirt”-type para-political tabloid. In the early 80s it was mainstream, but soon enough became unpopular and notorious. “Avrianistis” (=reader of Avriani) is one of the many Greek words for “crackpot”.
If you can understand Greek, please listen to what the late Manos Hadjidakis had to say about Avriani, and note how the crowd responded!
As a Jewish Greek I must admit that unfortunately while Avriani newspaper is certainly what we’d consider a trash newspaper, it echoes in this matter what a significant amount of my country takes as granted: that Jews control US policy.
It should be stressed that in these last years a courageous minority has raised it’s voice against this type of racism which is not in conformity with the greek tradition of tolerance and democracy - Nikos who commented before is an example of such courage and is indicative of a Greece which refuses to succumb to revolting hatred.
Oops, I just realized that I posted the wrong link. Here’s the right one: Manos Hadjidakis speaks against Avriani at one of his concerts
RE: Paula
Recent research showed that 24% of Greeks do not want to have a Jew as a neighbour.
So i live in America and i dont want to have a Mexican neighbor does that make me a racist or anti-latino? No it just means that i have an opinion.
Greece is a Democracy free speech is a right live with it.
“So i live in America and i dont want to have a Mexican neighbor does that make me a racist or anti-latino?” Macedonian
Of course, it does.
There are only a handful of Jews in Greece and most Greeks should have been so lucky as to have ever met one.
Don’t confuse free speech with bigotry.
You have a right to free speech but you are also a bigot. Of course, you have a right to be a bigot also as long as it doesn’t impinge on the rights of any other group.
You don’t have the right to deny any Mexican American the right to live wherever they want to, including next door to you.
Not wanting a group of people you never met as a neighbor is the essence of bigotry.
So i live in America and i dont want to have a Mexican neighbor does that make me a racist or anti-latino?
Yes.
ps. Plus there is this tiny flaw in your illuminating comparison: Jewish Greeks are your compatriots living in this country for the past 2000 years and not foreigners but that’s ok.
Here is a survey on bigotry in Greece.
“shriber
Nov 5th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Paula’s comments are right on. The driving force of Greek antisemitism is the Orthodox Church which still holds the view that the Jews are guilty of deicide.
“ADL Urges Orthodox Christian Churches To Excise Anti-Semitism From Liturgy
New York, NY, June 6, 2007 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is urging the world’s Orthodox Christian leaders to support a Christian proposal to excise ancient anti-Semitic passages from their liturgy….””
I would challenge you to find an word of anti-Semitism in our Divine Liturgy - ancient or otherwise. People seem to forget that the Orthodox Christian faith teaches that Jesus Christ was executed by the Roman authorities (our Creed states that He was “crucified by Pontius Pilate” and never mentions the Jews), who were influenced by a Jewish mob and religious authorities who accused Jesus of blasphemy, which was punishable by death. People also seem to forget that JESUS WAS A JEW! JESUS’ APOSTLES WERE JEWS! PAUL WAS A JEW! The Orthodox Christian faith is the continuation and fulfillment of Judaism. Can I suggest you read what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans concerning the Christian gentiles’ relation to the Jews? Being that the Orthodox Church reads part of Paul’s letters at every Divine Liturgy, including his letter to the Romans, I would doubt that we could be “anti-Semitic” at the same time. Learn before you speak.
http://kjv.us/romans/11.htm
Additionally, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has repudiated this “newspaper”’s article.
First, what one newspaper says, does not reflect the entire nation. Maybe, the government should censor every idiot that writes something? Yeah, that would be democratic.
But, in answer to ALL those that have misgivings about Greeks, the below was taken from NOT a Greek site, but, from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org NOBODY, especially Mr. pseudoMacedonian above can say ANYTHING about Greek Honor and Dignity.
Archbishop Damaskinos and Greek Intellectuals Protest Persecution of Greek Jewry
——————————————————————————–
VIRTUE AND COURAGE
The Greek Orthodox Church and the Academic World of the Greek People Protest against the Persecution
The letter that was sent by Archbishop Damaskinos to Prime Minister K. Logothetopoulos is a monument of courage, national dignity and respect for human ideals.
This historical document, unique in the annals of occupied Europe, was signed by representatives of the major cultural institutions and organizations on behalf of the Greek people. It required “virtue and courage” to sign such a document in those dark times.
To
The Prime Minister
Mr. K. Logothetopoulos
ATHENS
Mr. Prime Minister
The Greek people were rightfully surprised and deeply grieved to learn that the German Occupation Authorities have already started to put into effect a program of gradual deportation of the Greek Jewish community of Salonika to places beyond our national borders, and that the first groups of deportees are already on their way to Poland. The grief of the Greek people is particularly deep because of the following:
According to the terms of the armistice, all Greek citizens, without distinction of race or religion, were to be treated equally by the Occupation Authorities.
The Greek Jews have proven themselves not only valuable contributors to the economic growth of the country but also law-abiding citizens who fully understand their duties as Greeks. They made sacrifices for the Greek country and were always on the front line in the struggles of the Greek nation to defend its inalienable historical rights.
The law-abiding nature of the Jewish community in Greece refutes a priori any charge that it may be involved in actions or acts that might even slightly endanger the safety of the Military Occupation Authorities.
In our national consciousness, all the children of Mother Greece are an inseparable unity: they are equal members of the national body irrespective of religion or dogmatic differences.
Our Holy Religion does not recognize superior or inferior qualities based on race or religion, as it is stated: “There is neither Jew nor Greek” (Gal. 3:28) and thus condemns any attempt to discriminate or create racial or religious differences.
Our common fate, both in days of glory and in periods of national misfortune, forged inseparable bonds between all Greek citizens, without exemption, irrespective of race.
Certainly, we are not unaware of the deep conflict between the new Germany and the Jewish community, nor do we intend to become defenders or judges of world Jewry in the great sphere of world politics and economic affairs. Today we are interested in and deeply concerned with the fate of 60,000 of our fellow citizens, who are Jews. For a long time, we have lived together in both slavery and freedom, and we have come to appreciate their feelings, their brotherly attitude, their economic activity and, most important, their indefectible patriotism. Evidence of this patriotism is the great number of victims sacrificed by the Greek Jewish community without regret and without hesitation on the altar of duty when our country was in peril.
Mr. Prime Minister,
We are certain that the thoughts and feelings of the Government on this matter are in agreement with those of the rest of the Greek nation. We also trust that you have already taken the necessary steps and applied to the Occupation Authorities to rescind the grievous and futile measure to deport the members of the Jewish community of Greece.
We hope, indeed, that you have clarified to those in power that such harsh treatment of Jews of other nationalities in Greece makes the instituted measure even more unjustifiable and therefore morally unacceptable. If security reasons underlie it, we think it possible to suggest alternatives. Other measures can be taken, such as detaining the active male population (not including children and old people) in a specific place on Greek territory under the surveillance of the Occupation Authorities, thereby guaranteeing safety in face of any alleged danger and saving the Greek Jewish community from the impending deportation. Moreover, we would like to point out that, if asked, the rest of the Greek people will be willing to vouch for their brothers in need without hesitation.
We hope that the Occupation Authorities will realize in due time the futility of the persecution of Greek Jews, who are among the most peaceful and productive elements of the country.
If, however, they insist on this policy of deportation, we believe that the Government, as the bearer of whatever political authority is left in the country, should take a clear stance against these events and let the foreigners bear the full responsibility of committing this obvious injustice. Let no one forget that all actions done during these difficult times, even those actions that lie beyond our will and power, will be assessed some day by the nation and will be subjected to historical investigation. In that time of judgement, the responsibility of the leaders will weigh heavily upon the conscience of the nation if today the leaders fail to protest boldly in the name of the nation against such unjust measures as the deportation of the Greek Jews, which are an insult to our national unity and honor.
Respectfully,
Damaskinos
Archbishop of Athens and Greece
Following are the signatures of the heads of the major cultural institutions and organizations:
President of the Academy of Athens, Rector of the University of Athens, Rector of the Polytechnical School of Athens, Rector of the High School of Economic Studies, President of the Medical Association of Attica, President of the Roll of Barristers of Attica, President of the Union of Notaries of Athens and Aegean, President of the Journalists Union, President of the Association of Greek Authors, President of the Culture Association, President of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce, President of the Athens Professional Chamber, President of the Greek Association of Chemists, President of the Athens Association of Pharmacists, President of the Dentists Association, President of the Athens Craftsman Chamber, President of the Piraeus Association of Pharmacists, President of the Greeks Actors, President of the Greek Association of Pharmacists, President of the Medical Association of Piraeus, President of the Athens Association of Commercants, President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vice-President of the Greek Union of Theatrical and Musical Criticals, President of the Medical Association of Callithea, Secretary General of the Panhellenic Association of Dentists, President of the Greek Industrialists Union, General Director of the Refugees Organization, General Director of Social Health Organization.