.JPG)
EMBASSY OF ISRAEL, ATHENS - Yesterday (5.8.2013) - the Ambassador of Israel, Mr. Arye Mekel and Mr. Philip Friedman, President/CEO of Computer Generated Solutions Inc. and member of the Board of Directors of the Tom Lantos Institute and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, met with the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, His Beatitude, Mr. Ieronymos, at the Archdiocese of the Church of Greece in Athens. The meeting was arranged on short notice during the same day with the mediation of Ambassador Mekel.
Philip Friedman carried out a visit to Greece on 4-5 August 2013 in an effort to recruit the participation of Greek officials and the Greek clergy in a conference on combatting anti-Semitism organized by the Tom Lantos Institute in Hungary on October 1-2. Besides the Archbishop, during his stay in Athens, Mr. Friedman also met with: the Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, the Minister of Culture, Mr. Panos Panaghiotopoulos, the two Deputy Foreign Ministers, Mr. Dimitris Kourkoulas and Mr. Akis Gerontopoulos respectively, the Secretary of the Standing Committee of the Hellenic Parliament on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Christos Dimas, the President of the Parliamentary Greek – Israeli Friendship Committee, Mr. Kostas Karagounis, the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues at the Greek MFA, Mrs. Photini Tomai, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy, Mrs. Virginia Bennett, the President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, Mr. Benjamin Albalas and the President of the Athens Jewish Community, Mr. Minos Moissis. The meetings were organized with the mediation of Ambassador Mekel.
The following issues were discussed during the meeting of Ambassador Mekel and Mr. Philip Friedman with Archbishop Ieronymos:
• Archbishop Ieronymos welcomed the Ambassador of Israel and Mr. Friedman and wished the latter a pleasant stay in Greece.
• Ambassador Mekel thanked the Archbishop for receiving them and in fact on such short notice. He noted that the Archbishop is highly respected and therefore both he and Mr. Friedman thought that it would be very important to have a meeting with him. He then gave the podium to Mr. Friedman.
• Friedman warmly thanked the Archbishop for receiving them. He stated that he met or will meet with several senior officials in Greece and also considered it very important to also meet with head of the Greek Church. He introduced himself noting that he is the son of Holocaust survivors from Russia who was fortunate to be given the opportunity to emigrate to the US in 1976. As a result, Mr. Friedman said that he has a great sensitivity over issues relating to anti-Semitism and is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Tom Lantos Institute and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice.
• Mr. Friedman said he sought a meeting with the Archbishop for a very serious matter. Mr. Friedman pointed to the recent growth of anti – Semitism in Europe noting that the problem is most profound in Hungary. He said that unfortunately in Greece there have also been worrisome signs of growing anti-Semitism in recent years.
• Mr. Friedman noted that the Tom Lantos Institute is organizing a conference on preserving Jewish Heritage and Combatting anti-Semitism in Budapest on October 1-2. He said that world leaders from the US, Europe and Israel will attend. Greek political leaders and a delegation from the Greek – Jewish Community will also participate.
• Mr. Friedman noted that the conference will also include an Interreligious Dialogue between Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders headed by Cardinal Peter Erdo of the Catholic Church. The important US NGO "Appeal to Conscience" will also participate in the dialogue.
• Mr. Friedman pointed to the longstanding historic ties between Judaism and Christianity. He invited Archbishop Ieronymos to attend the conference, noting that he believes it is important to also have a representative of the Greek – Orthodox Church present there.
• Archbishop Ieronymos stated that he listened to Mr. Friedman with great interest. He noted that the Greek – Orthodox Church is standing at the side of the Jewish Community and has always condemned discrimination and racism. He said that during World War II, the Greek Church, and even former Archbishops like the late Archbishop Damaskinos, played an active role in providing shelter to Greek Jews, giving false names and even false identity cards to protect them from the Nazis. Mr. Friedman said that this history is known and he thanked the Archbishop.
• Referring to the issue of anti-Semitism, Archbishop Ieronymos said that there have been a few incidents in Greece, which unfortunately have even included a couple of Greek Metropolitans (Bishops). The Archbishop said that the leadership of the Church of Greece has condemned these Metropolitans and isolated them. He noted, however, that the Church cannot take penal measures against them because the church structure is such that each ecclesiastical region in Greece is autonomous.
• In referring to the issue of discrimination, Archbishop Ieronymos also pointed to the increased persecution of Christians in the Middle East. He referred to the issue of two kidnapped Orthodox Christian Metropolitans (Bishops) in Syria, noting that their whereabouts and whether or not they are dead are alive are unknown. The Archbishop said that according to eyewitness accounts in Syria, the Christians have been the target of massacres with entire villages being wiped out.
• Archbishop Ieronymos thanked Mr. Friedman for the invitation to attend the conference in Budapest. He said that he would raise the issue in a meeting of the Holy Synod to discuss the matter in order to decide what representation there will be. Mr. Friedman thanked the Archbishop and stated that he was counting on his support.
• Archbishop Ieronymos reiterated that both he and the Church are against any kind of discrimination or racism. He said that he himself is sensitive about the issue because he used to be a schoolteacher. He said that he had several Jewish students that are now leaders in the Greek Jewish Community. He said he cared for them very much since they were "raised in his hands."
• Archbishop Ieronymos said that what Mr. Friedman is doing is very important and wished him every success. Mr. Friedman stated that no one group can do it alone and that Jewish leaders and Christian leaders like the Archbishop must stand together in combatting racist and anti-Semitic phenomena, which do not only concern Jews but everyone.
• At the end of the meeting Ambassador Mekel and Mr. Friedman once again thanked the Archbishop of Greece for receiving them and then took a picture with him prior to leaving the Archdiocese.