Synagogue in Greece vandalized with swastikas

A synagogue in the Greek city of Ioannina was vandalized this week, with a number of swastikas spray-painted on the side of the building as well as some of the neighboring houses.

“Racist vandals defaced the exterior of the surrounding wall of the historic synagogue of Ioannina, situated in the old walled city, the Kastro (Castle). Vandals [also] drew swastikas also on some houses of the surrounding area,” the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece wrote in a statement on its website.

The organization “expressed Greek Jewry’s repudiation for this hideous act and urged the authorities to work for the arrest of the perpetrators as well as for the adequate protection of the synagogue,”according to the statement.

Ioannina Mayor Thomas Begas condemned the attack, saying “the image of the swastika does not only desecrate the Jewish synagogue; it also desecrates the memory of thousands of fellow men, victims of fascism,” according to Greek website Ekathimerini.