THESSALONIKI – The foreign ministry unequivocally condemned on Friday the desecration, with Nazi symbols, inside the premises of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, of the monument dedicated to the old Jewish cemetery of Thessaloniki. It also underlined that there can be no tolerance for such illegal and unethical actions.

The same announcement also said that the Greek state and society unreservedly reject any act of racism, intolerance and anti-Semitism wherever it manifests itself. “Much more so when this happens in a city that mourned 50,000 members of its historic Jewish community, our compatriots who were victims of the Holocaust under Nazism, simply because they were Jewish,” it added.

German consul general in Thessaloniki Bendig condemns vandalism of monument in old Jewish Cemetery

Germany’s consul general in Thessaloniki, Sibylla Bendig, in a statement on Friday, condemned the vandalism of the monument of the old Jewish Cemetery of Thessaloniki, located within the AUTH campus.

“As consul general of Germany in Thessaloniki, I strongly condemn the vandalism of the monument of the old Jewish Cemetery. It is disgusting and reminds us of the darkest chapters in the history of Thessaloniki, for which Nazi Germany was responsible. This anti-Semitic act is totally unacceptable and I express my full solidarity with the Israeli Community. Zero tolerance for anti-Semitism!”, Bendig commented.