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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO FOREIGN, NATIONAL, AND RELIGION EDITORS:
AJC Delegation Concludes Visit to Athens
ATHENS, March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An AJC senior
leadership delegation just concluded a three-day visit to Greece.
The 12-member AJC delegation, led by AJC President Stanley Bergman,
and Executive Director David Harris, was joined by leaders of the
Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, an AJC partner
organization, and Andrew Manatos, a prominent representative of the
Greek-American community.
The group met with top-level officials in the Greek government,
including Prime Minister Antonis Samaras; Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Venizelos; Defense Minister
Dimitris Avramopoulos and the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Minister of
Public Order Nikos Dendias; Minister of Culture Panos Panagiotopoulos,
who hosted a dinner for the group; and Minister of Education and
Religious Affairs Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos.
The delegation also met with the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to
Greece, as well as members of the Greece-Israel Parliamentary
Friendship Committee, including its chairman, Kostas Karagounis of the
New Democracy Party, and representatives of four other political
parties -- PASOK, Syriza, Democratic Left, and Independent Greeks.
"In all our meetings, we heard strong support for strategic ties with
both Israel and the United States, as well as condemnation of racism,
including the vile, neo-Nazi ideology promoted by the Golden Dawn,"
said Harris. "Moreover, we were heartened by the progress being
achieved in Greece's economic situation, even as much more remains to
be done in the months and years ahead. We came to Greece as deeply
committed friends, and we leave Greece as deeply committed friends."
Aside from regular visits to the Greek capital over the past three
decades, AJC has maintained robust relationships with Greek leaders
through engagement with diplomats and diaspora communities in regional
offices around the country and AJC's network of offices in Europe.
Reflecting the views of several of the Greek leaders with whom the
group met, Defense Minister Avramopoulos described AJC as "one of the
architects of the strategic partnership" that today characterizes the
relationship among Greece, the U.S., Cyprus, and Israel.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO
SOURCE American Jewish Committee
-0- 03/06/2014
/CONTACT: Kenneth Bandler, AJC Director of Media Relations, 212.891.6771, bandlerk@ajc.org
/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
/Web Site: http://www.ajc.org
CO: American Jewish Committee
ST: Greece
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