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Anti-Semitism in Greece May Be Highest in Europe
(Kathimerini-Greece) Harry Van Versendaal - Experts are urging authorities to take active measures to combat anti-Semitism in Greece after a recent study confirmed levels of hatred toward Jews believed to be the highest in Europe. "Greece has rates of anti-Semitism matching those recorded in countries that neighbor Israel rather than ones in the European Union," said Elias Dinas, a political scientist at the University of Oxford. A report published last month by the Thessaloniki branch of the Heinrich Boll Foundation, a political think tank affiliated with the German Green Party, found anti-Jewish sentiment to be as strong on the far left as on the right. Senior clergymen of the Orthodox Church, which has not officially absolved the Jews for the death of Christ, often make anti-Semitic remarks. Newspapers regularly feature anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, as well as cartoons with anti-Semitic themes or caricatures. "There is this shared conviction that Greeks have been treated more unfairly and suffered more pain than any other people," Dinas said. "This creates a feeling of inferiority, envy and competition." According to polls, 70% believe that Greek people have suffered a genocide that is worse or similar to that suffered by the Jews.