The Embassy of Israel, the Ministry of Education and Zoe’s Schools organized the Yad Vashem Award Ceremony, at which the title of “Righteous of the Nations” of Yad Vashem (Holocaust Foundation and Museum in Jerusalem) was awarded to the Greek hero Constantine Sfakianakis who rescued the Greek Jews Raphael and Bianca Ventura from Crete during the Holocaust. Konstantinos Sfakianakis hid them and housed them in his house in Agios Panteleimon, Attica, at the risk of his life.

The moving ceremony by the school’s teachers and students included a film anthology, musical performances, poetry recitations, and was held at the Zois Schools in the presence of the Ambassador of Israel, Mr. Noam Katz of the SG. Mr. George Kalantzis, representative of the Central Board of Jewish Communities, the Mayor of Argyroupolis, and students of the school. The medal and diploma were awarded to his daughters, Sophia and Mariellis.

The Ambassador of Israel said: “The stories of the Righteous should be a moral compass that reminds us that true bravery is not the absence of fear but the choice to act despite fear. To make the world a better place, the Righteous of the Nations teach us that we cannot remain apathetic. To make the world a better place, we must confront evil, not simply condemn it.”

A total of 369 Greeks have been honoured as Righteous of the Nations by Yad Vashem, including Archbishop Damaskinos, the Bishops of Zakynthos and Demetrias, Chrysostomos and Joachim, the Chief of Police, Angelos Evert, the resistance heroine Lela Karagianni, and the Mayor of Zakynthos, Loukas Karrer.