Greece to focus on education in IHRA presidency to combat antisemitism

On Wednesday, a mural memorializing the Jewish community of Thessaloniki was vandalized. 50,000 Jews from there perished in the Holocaust.

A Greek national flag flutters as people visit a beach, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Athens, Greece, April 28, 2020. (photo credit: GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS)
A Greek national flag flutters as people visit a beach, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Athens, Greece, April 28, 2020.
(photo credit: GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS)
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) has a rotating presidency, and Greece will fill it next, i24 News reported on Thursday, noting that just a few hours before the announcement, on Wednesday night, a Jewish memorial was vandalized in Greece. 
The appointment will go into effect on April 1. 
On Wednesday, a mural memorializing the Jewish community of Thessaloniki was vandalized. Some 50,000 Jews from Thessaloniki perished in the Holocaust. 
On December 31 2020, just as the new year rolled in, antisemitic graffiti was painted on the wall of the Yavanim synagogue of Trikala in central Greece.
The very next day, the city's Holocaust memorial was vandalized, for the second time in the previous two years. 
And, earlier, in November, a Greek newspaper publisher was convicted in state court for defamation and hate speech for publishing an op-ed that called a local Jewish community leader a thief. 
The IHRA definition explains how the "certain perception" of Jews can directly manifest in rhetorical or physical acts of violence. 
Greece's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexandros Papaioannou said that the focus of the presidency will be education, in light of the active antisemitic acts that have taken place recently.