Israeli official slams Voridis’ appointment
Israel has reacted to the appointment of New Democracy deputy Makis Voridis in Greece’s new cabinet, with an unnamed diplomatic official telling The Jerusalem Post that the country will not cooperate with the new minister for agriculture and food because of his antisemitic past.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Kyriakos Mitsotakis on his election victory, while the World Jewish Congress (WJC) issued a statement describing the conservative leader as a “true ally of Israel.” But a statement by the Foreign Ministry said it was examining the makeup of the new Greek cabinet, adding that one of the ministers was known for “racist and antisemitic positions.” It did not specify.
Meanwhile, World Zionist Organization vice chairman Yaakov Hagoel urged Mitsotakis to cancel the appointment of a “clearly antisemitic minister.”
Voridis, 54, was leader of the EPEN (National Political Union) youth group founded in the early 1980s by Greece’s jailed dictator Georgios Papadopoulos. In the mid-1990s, he founded the nationalist Hellenic Front (Elliniko Metopo), a party absorbed by Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) in 2005. He joined New Democracy in 2012.
