ATHENS, Greece (JTA) — The Greek Jewish community protested to a leading Greek television channel about a program hosting four lawmakers from the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party.
“The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece wishes to express its great indignation at the broadcasting, promotion and dissemination of the extremely racist
sentiments displayed by Holocaust deniers and proponents of Nazism in Greece,” said a board letter addressed to Ioannis Alafouzos, president of the SKAI media group.
The four appeared on a talk show on SKAI TV on April 7.
“We have repeatedly pointed out that the political system, the judiciary, civic bodies and the Mass Media have a duty to isolate and delegitimize ideologies that have
resulted in crimes against humanity and the death of millions of people, including six million Jews,” the letter said.
The program also was condemned by the prominent Union of Athens Daily Press Journalists, and social activists have launched a social media campaign calling for a boycott of the products sold by companies that sponsor shows in which Golden Dawn members appear.
Several leading companies have since said they had been unaware of the content featured on the show and in the future would seek not to sponsor similar segments, according to the Eleftherotypia newspaper.
Golden Dawn erupted onto the political scene last year, winning 7 percent of the vote, or 18 seats, in the 300-member Parliament. Recent polls have indicated that the party, which runs on an anti-immigrant platform, now has 14 percent to 18 percent of the population’s support.
Jewish and international groups have condemned Golden Dawn as being racist and anti-Semitic.
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