There is Neither Greek Nor Jew
Tuesday, Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
11:00 am ET on Zoom
Registration Required – Click Here
In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day and in celebration of these incredible community leaders and the 43rd anniversary of their Righteous Among the Nations designation, the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), in partnership with the National Hellenic Society, and the Hellenic American Women’s Council, will host a virtual reception honoring Loukas Karrer and Dimitrios Chrysostomos.
During the Greek Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), this educational event will highlight the history of Hellenic-Jewish relations and the importance of strengthening those bonds in facing antisemitism. During the Greek IHRA presidency, recognizing past leaders who confronted antisemitism in its most extreme form will help inspire a new generation of civic and religious leaders to similarly confront antisemitism and other forms of hate.
More about the Event
On the island of Zakynthos off the coast of mainland Greece, 275 Jews lived prior to the outbreak of World War II. Nazi forces arrived in Zakynthos on September 9th, 1943 and demanded a complete list of the island’s Jews from Mayor Loukas Karrer. Unsure of how to proceed, Karrer turned to the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church on the island, Metropolitan Dimitrios Chrysostomos, for assistance. Metropolitan Chrysostomos assured Karrer that he would negotiate with the Nazis and ensure the protection of the Jewish community of Zakynthos.
Hesitating for months, by 1944, the Nazis confronted Mayor Karrer at gunpoint to forfeit the names and locations of Zakynthos’ Jews. At this, Metropolitan Chrysostomos handed the island’s Nazi leadership a list of the island’s Jews with two names on it: Loukas Karrer and Dimitrios Chrysostomos. The two leaders then mobilized the island’s citizens to hide all of the town’s Jewish people in rural villages, allowing them to escape deportation. While more than 80% of Greek Jews were killed during the Holocaust, the entire Jewish community of Zakynthos was saved. Loukas Karrer and Dimitrios Chrysostomos were honored with the title of Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem for saving their island’s Jewish community in 1977.
More on the Speakers – Click Here
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This program is co-sponsored by the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, the American Sephardi Federation, The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America, Center for Jewish Impact, Artists 4 Israel, WJC North America, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Interorthodoc Centre of the Church of Greece, Muslims Against Anti-Semitism, March of the Living Australia, American Hellenic Institute, and Interfaith Paths to Peace.