A synagogue in Larissa, Greece, was vandalised on Thursday, police reported Friday, marking the latest in a series of antisemitic acts that have drawn strong condemnation from the country’s Jewish community.
The synagogue’s exterior wall was defaced with “Free Palestine” graffiti and an offensive message targeting Zionism, according to police and a local Jewish community representative who spoke to AFP. An investigation into the incident has been launched by the Larissa police.
The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) expressed “deep concern” on Thursday about what it described as a “rampant increase in incidents targeting Jewish sites” across Greece.
The group’s statement highlighted the “desecration” of the Larissa Holocaust Memorial and a site dedicated to the historic Jewish cemetery at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki.
Credit: Human Rights Watch
Additionally, an “antisemitic inscription” was found graffitied on the wall of the Jewish cemetery in Volos.
KIS noted that “Such incidents are accompanied by extreme rhetoric that has led to acts of crude violence, including attacks on tourists, verbal assaults, acts of vandalism, and the ongoing targeting of individuals who are often labelled as ‘murderers’ solely based on their national or religious identity.”
These events occur amidst recent pro-Palestinian protests in Greece, largely organised by the Greek left, condemning the ongoing conflict in Gaza. A Greek delegation that recently participated in an international march from Cairo to Gaza was reportedly detained in Cairo and forced to return to Greece.
KIS stated that over 86 per cent of Greece’s Jewish community was murdered during the Nazi German occupation, with the community now numbering approximately 5,000.
Greece is a popular destination for Israeli tourists, particularly Athens and Thessaloniki, which historically had significant Jewish populations before the Nazi occupation.
