Composer's remarks virtually unnoticed despite TV coverage
Posted: November 13, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Flanked by Greek government leaders, composer Mikis Theodorakis of "Zorba the Greek" fame issued a scathing denunciation of Jews at a reception covered extensively by the national media.
"Today, we can say that these little people are the root of evil," said Theodorakis, 78, according to Agence France-Presse.
Despite the media attention given to the event – a Nov. 4 reception for publication of his autobiography – the anti-Semitic remarks were repeated only in a small right-wing newspaper.
Greek Jewish leaders have criticized government leaders for not reacting.
Theodorakis "repeated in the 21st century opinions from the darkest Middle Ages and slogans used by Nazi Germany, fanning both inside and outside the country the winds of intolerance and racism," the Central Jewish Council of Greece charged in a statement, according to AFP.
The popular composer, a committed left-wing political activist, was jailed under the fascist junta that ruled Greece in the late 1960s and early 1970s, AFP noted.
He made the comments with Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Education Minister Petros Efthymiou at his side.
AFP said neither minister reacted when Theodorakis said Greeks and Jews "are two peoples without kin, but they had fanaticism and self-knowledge and managed to prevail."
The government distanced itself from the remarks.
"The government does not share and is not in agreement with the opinion expressed by Mr. Theodorakis," spokesman Christos Protopapas said.
He added, however, that "despite the disagreement" the composer "is still held in high regard" by the government for his works.
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