The Jewish Community of Thessaloniki in an announcement on Thursday condemned the vandalism of the monument constructed in 2014 inside the campus of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) asking from the Rectorate Authorities not only to condemn the incident and to restore the monument but also the total cooperation with the authorities for the arrest of the perpetrators.
"The Monument dedicated to the Jewish cemetery situated in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki was once more target of hideous vandalism.
A swastika was sprayed on the grave that symbolizes the sacredness of the Jewish cemetery -one of the oldest in Europe- which was destroyed in 1942 by the Nazis and their collaborators, as well as the annihilation of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, the largest in Greece, during the Holocaust.
The marble dedication of the Monument was also desecrated with a fascist symbol.
With the stain of the horrific Nazi swastika and a fascist-inspired graffiti we bid farewell to 2022, a year during which no incidents of vandalism of Jewish sites were registered in Greece.
We condemn the unholy act of the vandals, followers of intolerance and antisemitism that express their hatred and fanaticism through the profanation of the memory of the Salonican Jews. No tolerance to antisemitism!
We call on the Law enforcement authorities to be mobilized in order to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to Justice", the announcement said
It is noted that "in a period that the JCT in closely cooperating with the Greek government, with Germany and with Stavros Niarchos Foundation as well as with the municipality of Thessaloniki and AUTH for the construction of the Holocaust Museum of Greece, the act of these individuals reaffirms in the most emphatic way the constant need for tackling racism, antisemitism, bigotry and intolerance as well as the significance of the promotion and highlighting of the history of Thessaloniki and of the aspects of the centuries-old presence of its Jewish residents
