Jewish grave vandalised in Ioannina, Greece

A Jewish grave has been vandalised in Ioannina, Greece.

The news of the incident emerged last week and has prompted “outrage and resentment” from The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS). They reported that the grave had the covering slab removed from it in addition to also having smashed pieces of marble scattered around.

The KIS said that this is not the first time that the Jewish cemetery of Ioannina has been vandalised. “We strongly condemn this shameful act of sacrilege which indicates that the hatred of the perpetrators leads to villainous manifestations of violence and fanaticism,” the organisation stated.

It added: “We call upon the competent authorities to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice. The Jewish cemetery of Ioannina is…a place of memory and cultural heritage for the city of Ioannina as a whole.”  

Earlier this year, the KIS denounced what it called “another attempt to diminish and exploit the Holocaust” following the publication of a cartoon in a Greek newspaper.

Last month, the Deputy Leader of the neo-Nazi organisation Golden Dawn was arrested after he was found hiding in Athens, Greece.

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Image credit: Eli Nahum/Monitoring Antisemitism Worldwide