The arrival of Greek President Karlos Papoulias in Israel signals not just another state visit, but the beginning of a new chapter in relations between the two countries whose history has in one way or another been intertwined for centuries, President Shimon Peres said on Monday morning in his greeting to the seventh president of the Third Hellenic Republic and his entourage.
Peres thanked Papoulias for the significant role played by Greece in blocking the Gaza-bound flotilla. Noting that many of the people who had tried to by-pass the Israeli blockade to Gaza had carried banners with the imprint ‘Free Gaza’, Peres declared that Gaza does not want peace, and that if Gaza would be free of terror, Gaza would be free.
Israel left Gaza voluntarily, he said, and in return has been fired upon from Gaza ever since at the instigation of Iran. Gaza, which is reputedly in dire economic straits, he said, spends an incredible amount of money on weapons to fire at Israel.
Peres praised Greece for helping to calm the atmosphere in the region, and noted the Greek President’s personal involvement in this endeavor.
Israel’s gratitude to Greece extends further back than this particular incident. "None of us will forget that your planes were the first to fly in and help us fight the fires in the Carmel Forest" said Peres.
Acknowledging the differences between Israel and Greece, Peres said that what counted is that Greece like Israel is in favor of peace and fights terror to bring about peace.
Looking back over the centuries, Peres said that both countries have long intellectual, spiritual and philosophical legacies from which to build a better future for the region.
In his welcoming address Peres also praised Greece for safeguarding the dignity of its Jews and not having a history of anti-Semitism.
This contradicts a Los Angeles Times report by Anthee Carassava who in February of this year wrote that Greece more than many European nations continues to wrestle with anti-Jewish feelings and that such sentiments have been revived amid the angst and anger of the Greek economic crisis. Caarassava also pointed to the desecration and vandalization of synagogues, Jewish cemeteries, Holocaust monuments and the painting of swastikas on the Athens-based Jewish Museum of Greece.
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