Mitsotakis meets with reps of American Jewish groups on sidelines of UN general assembly

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday met with representatives of five American Jewish organizations, followed by a separate meeting with the top leadership of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), all part of his contacts on the sidelines of the 77th UN general assembly in New York City.

According to reports, during the meetings Mitsotakis cited the particularly close and strategic cooperation between Greece and Israel on a wide variety of issues, as well as the prospect for a further strengthening of bilateral relations and within multi-lateral cooperation schemes in which the two countries participate.

He also reportedly cited the importance of the Greek and Jewish Diasporas in promoting cooperation between Greece, Israel and the United States, with an aim at forming a new “security architecture” in the eastern Mediterranean, especially amid a period when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has rekindled fears of revisionism and dispute of international law.

Along these lines, Mitsotakis briefed representatives of the groups over what he called escalating rhetoric by Turkey’s leadership, the “instrumentalization” of migration by Ankara, claims against Greek sovereignty a disinformation campaign to cast Athens in a negative light.

Beyond regional developments, Mitsotakis also reaffirmed his government’s absolute commitment to combating anti-Semitism and distortions of historical truths regarding the Holocaust.

He underlined that Greece has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definitions and charters against anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, while holding the rotating presidency of the IHRA last year.

Mitsotakis also noted that Greece has initiated the construction of a Holocaust museum in Thessaloniki, with Deputy Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos appointed to oversee the project’s conclusion.