Former chief rabbi of Greece: “Syriza is an anti-Zionist party that is against Israel”

 Rabbi Mordechai Friziz, former chief rabbi of Salonika in Greece, spoke to Arutz Sheva on Monday to explain the results of the Mediterranean nation’s recent elections.

“The results show a revolution in Greek politics. For the first time the leftist radical party Syriza won a majority with half of the seats in the parliament,” related Rabbi Frizis.

Elaborating, the rabbi said of Syriza “this is an anti-Zionist party that is against Israel. A Jew in Greece can’t be happy today with the elections results. The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party came in at third place, and that really frightens Greek Jews.”

“The Jewish community in Greece is concerned about the developments and fears that due to the election results the relations between Israel and Greece are in danger,” he added.

Referring to the recent attacks in Paris in which four Jews were murdered in a kosher supermarket, Rabbi Frizis remarked “we saw what happened in France and here too in Greece things could spin out of control.”

“Because of the financial difficulties in Greece there are more than a few accusations against Jews. Several years ago one of the (Greek) leaders said ‘Jews don’t pay taxes,’ which reminds us of dark periods in the history of the Jewish people,” he noted.

Explaining the political structure in the country, Rabbi Frizis noted “all the parties in Greece are against the European Union, and they all want to leave the bloc. I don’t know how fast it will happen. There’s no doubt that there’s a very difficult socio-economic situation, and they understand that without the European Union they will have trouble rehabilitating (financially).”

“My parents, family members and friends are still in Greece, I speak with them and they don’t feel safe,” concluded the rabbi. “If the state cuts ties with Israel that will automatically bring anti-Semitism to the streets. The only solution here for Jews in the exile and particularly in Greece is to make aliyah (immigrate) to the land of Israel.”

There are roughly 5,000 Jews currently living in Greece, with the majority of them located in the capital city of Athens.

Since Israeli ties with Turkey began plummeting in recent years, Israeli ties with Greece grew rapidly as illustrated in numerous joint military exercises between the two nations, although with the shift in the new elections those ties have currently been thrown into doubt.