The decision by the Corfu ELME to hold a demonstration this afternoon, 9 June 2025, for Palestine has caused a reaction.

The Secretary General of Religious Affairs Giorgos Kalantzis, noting that the demonstration, against Israel and for Palestine is both on the day of Holy Spirit, which is important for Orthodoxy and has been established as a holiday for certain sectors -among them teachers- but also a day with a particularly heavy symbolism for Corfu.

“It is the date that Nazi gathered the Greek Jews of Corfu and began their deportation to the extermination camp at Auschwitz. Of the approximately 2,000 Jews of Corfu, only 166 survived”, Mr Kalantzis explains in his statement and asks.

In detail, the statement of George Kalantzis:

The Corfu ELME calls for a demonstration on 9 June with the slogan “No support for the murderer state of Israel.”

The 9th of June in the year 2025 is a day of particular importance for Orthodoxy as it is the feast of the Holy Spirit, which has been established as a holiday for certain professional sectors, including teachers and judges, as a recognition of their contribution to the general spiritual life of the nation.

But in Corfu in particular, June 9th of each year carries a particularly heavy symbolism. It is the date when the Nazis rounded up the Greek Jews of Corfu and began their deportation to the Auschwitz extermination camp. Of the approximately 2,000 Jews of Corfu, only 166 survived.