Outrage as Greek leaders condemn cancellation of Greek–Jewish fundraiser

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The Greek–Jewish choral show aimed astatine fundraising for the families of victims of the Bondi massacre was cancelled, aft divisions within the Greek choir led to the lawsuit being scrapped. The determination has caused superior interest for Greek and Jewish communities who person agelong worked successful harmony.

The story has besides garnered nationalist and planetary attention, with The Australian, The Jewish Independent , Australian Jewish News, Times of Israel, Neos Kosmos, Greek City Times, and the Greek Herald each reporting connected it.

A statement connected thye Australian Hellenic Choir’s website today said, “Recent media sum has inaccurately suggested that members of the Australian Hellenic Choir are antisemitic. This is not true!”

Hopeless deficiency of unity and atrocious timing

The Concert for Hope and Unity was to bring together the Australian Hellenic Choir, the Sydney Jewish Choral Society and a starring Australian choir for a two-hour show astatine Sydney Town Hall connected June 28.

The statement from the AHC said, “This show was projected to the Choir lone past week, and was scheduled for 28 June. This day was deemed too adjacent to an extremity of May performance the choir has been rehearsing for. As a result, the bulk of the choir voted against participating, owed to clip constraints.”

The performance fell done aft a vote astatine a rehearsal gathering past Monday. The Australian reported that implicit fractional of the Hellenic choir members “politically objected” to performing alongside a Jewish choir, though Neos Kosmos was told the main interest was “timing”.

Tony Morphis, a bass vocalist for the choir, reiterated that the cardinal determination not to spell up was based chiefly connected timing, and that “the bulk of the choristers were connected board.”

“Why would we cull it when we person performed The Mauthausen Trilogy with the Jewish choir successful the past?” Morphis said.

Morphis said that astir December and January, “Jim (James Tsolakis – choir director) mentioned that the NSW authorities would money a performance betwixt the Hellenic and Jewish choirs of Theodorakis’s Mauthausen—something we person done before.”

“Most of us were acrophobic astir the timing arsenic we had different performance planned for May 31. Many of us suggested it should person been staged successful December 2026 to springiness us clip to prepare.”

He added that “two oregon three members were politically motivated,” attempting to nexus the performance to existent conflicts successful the Middle East.

“It is my view that linking what Israel is doing to what happened successful Australia—the Bondi massacre—is wholly idiotic,” helium said.

Morphis said some choristers adjacent suggested “a Jewish, Greek and Arabic concert,” an thought that had “broad support”.

He added that while Tsolakis “is working supra anyone other to make a successful unit that proudly represents the Greek community, helium whitethorn person been too enthusiastic to perpetrate us to the performance so soon.”

Morphis said the Australian Hellenic Choir committee would σύντομα contented an authoritative statement clarifying the situation.

In a missive to members, Sydney Jewish Choral Society seat Anne Spira confirmed the outcome, writing that the Hellenic Choir was “pulling retired of the concert, which will beryllium cancelled.”

She has since made a submission to the Royal Commission connected Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, with respective choir members besides lodging idiosyncratic submissions anonymously.

Bad determination impacts connected Hellenic choir

Australian Hellenic Choir president James Tsolakis said the determination came arsenic a shock, peculiarly fixed the lawsuit had secured $15,000 successful NSW authorities backing and a confirmed Town Hall booking.

“Every cent was to beryllium dispersed to a foundation to support the families of the victims of the Bondi terror attack,” helium said.

Tsolakis expressed interest astatine the absorption within sections of the community.

“There’s a spot of antisemitism successful the Greek community; I didn’t realise the grade of it. Unfortunately, some radical are blaming the Jewish assemblage for what’s happening successful Israel and Palestine—that’s not correct.

“You want to criticise Netanyahu? Criticise Netanyahu. But what person Jewish radical done to you? The whole antisemitism contented needs to beryllium wound back.”

He said a premix of factors contributed to the decision, including timing, and anxiousness astir the existent governmental clime arsenic well arsenic “concerns astir safety”.

“This was astir bringing radical together done music. I initiated it, but I’ve got nary prime but to unopen it down,” helium said.

The performance was expected to pull up to 2,000 radical and centre connected themes of love, bid and unity. At its bosom was The Ballad of Mauthausen, a almighty work by Mikis Theodorakis and Iakovos Kambanellis telling the story of emotion betwixt a Greek and a Jewish captive successful a Nazi attraction camp.

Spira praised Tsolakis’s efforts and recalled the success of a erstwhile associated show successful 2022, describing it arsenic a almighty illustration of cross-cultural bridge-building.

“In the aftermath of Bondi, this was meant to bring that spirit back,” she said.

Instead, she said objections within the Greek choir, on with information concerns, led to its collapse.

“The effect is, similar galore different Jews successful the arts since October 7, we person been cancelled,” she said.

Greek Australian and Jewish leaders explicit sadness and anger

The Jewish Hellenic Association of Victoria (JHAV) expressed “sadness” astatine the cancellation, stressing the agelong past of practice betwixt Greek and Jewish Australians and warning against allowing overseas conflicts to fracture section relationships.

Dean Kalimniou from the JHAV said the Association notes with “sadness the cancellation of the projected Concert for Hope and Unity, an lawsuit intended to rise funds for the families of the victims of the Bondi tragedy and to affirm the shared values of compassion, solidarity and bid that unite each Australians”.

“As an organisation dedicated to exploring, preserving and celebrating the communal practice of Greek and Jewish Australians, JHAV believes profoundly successful the powerfulness of dialogue, civilization and shared representation to flooded division.

“The historical narration betwixt our two communities is affluent with examples of communal respect, intelligence speech and communal struggle against hatred and persecution. This bequest indispensable proceed to usher us.”

Kalimniou added that “the Bondi massacre was not an lawsuit that belongs to 1 assemblage alone”.

Tilda Sikes, Sydney-based arts impresario and the Greek Orthodox Community’s 2026 Sydney Greek Festival manager told Neos Kosmos “that it’s important that we amusement wide support for the Jewish community, peculiarly astatine a clip similar this.”

She added that “there are concerns astir what is happening successful Palestine—that is real, and radical consciousness it deeply”.

“The vexation and choler toward the Israeli authorities are intelligibly there, and they are playing retired successful antithetic spaces, including taste collaborations similar this. But I wish it had not played retired successful this way, it was an important symbolic event.”

“A performance aimed astatine supporting victims of violence successful Australia should not go a casualty of planetary politics. It was intended arsenic something positive—an enactment of solidarity—and it should person remained that.”

Sikes said she will “always support collaboration and efforts that bring communities together” and said this was 1 such moment, “and it’s disappointing that it didn’t proceed”.

Vic Alhadeff, who has Greek ancestry, erstwhile seat of Multicultural NSW and erstwhile main enforcement of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies was to emcee the event. Alhadeff told the AJN that “the determination by some choristers to propulsion the plug connected the lawsuit was highly hurtful to the Jewish assemblage and very unfortunate”.

“That said, the Australian Greek and Jewish communities person enjoyed a agelong and collaborative friendship, and our anticipation is that the two choirs will again stock a level successful the adjacent future.”

Presidents of the Greek and Cypriot communities condemn the Hellenic Choir’s actions

The President of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) Bill Papastergiadis said that arsenic the president “the largest Greek assemblage successful Australia – I americium profoundly dissapointed with what occurred”.

“I spot the nonaccomplishment to spell up shows a deficiency of enactment connected behalf of the Choir management. If someone did not want to execute then they should, arsenic individuals withdrawal.

“I want to marque wide that the Greek assemblage of Melbourne (GCM) stands enarthrosis to enarthrosis with the Australian Jewish community. What occured successful Bondi was an abonination and an onslaught connected each of us,” Papastergiadis told Neos Kosmos

“A performance arsenic was projected builds our historical links with the Jewish Diaspora and should ne'er beryllium a victim to aforesaid styled advocates and worse overseas events.”

Cyprus Community of Melbourne and Victoria president Theo Theophanous was direct, describing the determination arsenic flawed and warned of broader consequences.

“Someone should take a superior look astatine the Australian Hellenic Choir” Theophanous said.

“As the President of the Cyprus Community of Melbourne and Victoria I bash not judge that Greeks and Greek Cypriots support the determination of the Australian Hellenic Choir to garbage to enactment successful a planned Jewish- Greek payment performance successful support of the families of the victims of the Bondi terrorist onslaught which led to the lawsuit being cancelled” helium told Neos Kosmos.

He called the determination “antisemitic” by a bulk of singers successful the Hellenic choir “disguised arsenic a Palestinian protest”.

“Such antisemitism is condemned by each thinking Greeks who understand that supporting families whose loved ones were murdered successful an Islamic terrorist onslaught successful Australia is not an endorsement of the Netanyahu Government’s actions. It is simply a stand against antisemitism and terrorism successful Australia and an enactment of charity.”

The president of the Cypriot Community questioned the “leadership of the Hellenic Choir “and said that it “should not person accepted the result of a vote connected whether the choir should participate”.

“Indeed, it should ne'er adjacent person been enactment to a vote,” Theophanous said.

He said that those who did not wish to enactment should person been told what the presumption of the enactment of the Hellenic Choir was “as expressed by its President James Tsolakis who expressed support for the lawsuit and his disappointment that it did not spell ahead”.

“If they did not wish to participate, they should person been shown the doorway and the remaining humanist members who reason antisemitism and terrorist actions successful Australia beryllium allowed to participate.”

Theophanous said this enactment by what helium called “a radical of ill-informed Choir members has acceptable backmost the representation that communities person tried to task of being strongly opposed to antisemitism and terrorist murders successful Australia”.

“They person acceptable backmost Greek Jewish Community relations and so the strong relationship and practice connected issues to tackle antisemitism betwixt Greece Cyprus and Israel.”

Theophanous said that “the Australian Hellenic Choir cannot beryllium allowed to stand and should beryllium condemned by each leaders within the Greek and Cypriot Communities.”

Theophanous is said that the choir enactment should, “strongly condemn the determination and enactment successful spot arrangements and rules that bash not let their members to determination the organisation towards antisemitic oregon immoderate signifier of racist positioning”.

Despite the setback, Tsolakis said helium remains committed to aboriginal collaboration, with plans to stage a akin show successful Canberra adjacent year pursuing an invitation from the Greek ambassador.

The Australian Hellenic Choir has published a statement connected their ιστότοπος and the implicit text is below

STATEMENT REGARDING THE CONCERT FOR HOPE AND UNITY

Recent media sum has inaccurately suggested that members of the Australian Hellenic Choir are antisemitic.

This is not true!

The Choir stands for inclusivity, respect, and taste exchange. Antisemitism, oregon immoderate different signifier of discrimination, has nary spot successful our organisation.

It is besides untrue that The Australian Hellenic Choir refused to sing with the Sydney Jewish Choral Society successful a performance titled Hope and Unity.

This show was projected to the Choir lone past week, and was scheduled for 28 June. This day was deemed too adjacent to an extremity of May performance the choir has been rehearsing for. As a result, the bulk of the choir voted against participating, owed to clip constraints.

Antisemitism had nary spot successful this determination whatsoever!

Comments published successful the archetypal nonfiction successful The Australian connected 28 April and then taken up by the planetary media, were made by an idiosyncratic without authorisation from the Committee and bash not bespeak the views oregon values of the Choir oregon its members. The Committee has taken due steps to clarify the grounds with the publication.

We thank members and supporters for their continued trust and reaffirm our committedness to transparency, bully governance and respectful assemblage engagement.

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