Hours after coming under fire, Greece’s new Health Minister apologises for inflammatory Auschwitz comment from 2009
Hours after coming under fire for inflammatory comments he made in 2009 when defending his father who was accused of inciting racism, Greece’s new Health Minister has apologised.
Thanos Plevris, a lawyer who is reported to have a “far-right, anti-immigrant and extremist background”, became Greece’s new Health Minister on Tuesday. However, The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) expressed concern regarding this new appointment owing to Mr Plevris’ 2009 comments during a trial in which he was defending his father, who said that Auschwitz concentration camp should be kept in “good conditions” so that it may be used again.
The KIS issued a statement demanding an apology for the comments Mr Plevris made before the Greek Court of Justice, where he reportedly said: “I will refer to issues that have puzzled you. You are concerned about the reference to Auschwitz. The one that says ‘to keep the camp of Auschwitz in good conditions’. I will examine the most extreme interpretation. That the defendant with this reference means: ‘Keep the camp of Auschwitz in good conditions because I want, at some point, the national socialist regime to come back, Hitler to come back, take the Jews and put them in Auschwitz’. What kind of instigation is this? What incitement is this? Is it that one is not allowed to believe and want to believe that ‘I want to exterminate someone’?”
The KIS continued: “We expect Mr. Thanos Plevris to apologise to the Jewish people for this reference and express his unequivocal condemnation of intolerance, antisemitism and Holocaust denialists, conforming with the declared positions of the Greek prime minister. We also hope that the new minister will address all citizens equally, regardless of skin colour, race or religion.”
Hours later, Mr Plevris stated that the KIS’ concerns were “understandable” and that he “fully disagrees” with his father’s views.
He added: “But I never wanted to insult the Jewish people, and I apologise if I did. I am certain that…as health minister, I will leave not the slightest grounds for reservation for those who doubt my respect for the Holocaust, and they will see that under no circumstances do I harbour antisemitic sentiments.”
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