According to unquestionable historic data, the existence of Jews in Greece goes back to antiquity. The first testimony on the settlement of Jews in Greece is recorded on a signpost found in Oropos, near Athens. It dates between 300-250 BCE and refers to a Jew called Moschos Moschionos.

Ever since, Jewish presence in Greece continued with no interruption until today.

After the expulsion of Jews from Spain, in 1492, a large number of Spanish Jews found shelter in Greece and settled mainly in the north of Greece. The capital city of that region was Thessaloniki, where Jews constituted the majority of the population in the early 20 th century. This is the reason why Thessaloniki was called "Madre d' Israel".

Well-known Synagogues, Rabbinical Schools, Monuments, Cemeteries etc were built in all the regions where Jews settled. Jewish Letters in Greece flourished to such a great extent, that in some regions a special language was formed, that was the Romaniote language (a Hebrew and Greek dialect). The Rabbinical Schools that operated in Rhodes, Thessaloniki, Crete and Larissa were well known throughout Europe.

In the first decade of the 20th century the Jews of Greece numbered about 100,000. Before the War, 27 Jewish Communities--with 77,377 members--functioned in corresponding Greek cities.

During the Holocaust Greek Jewry had a sad record: in relation to the population it suffered the greatest losses throughout Europe. 67,151 Jews, that is 86% of the Jewish population in Greece, perished in the German concentration camps. Many of the survivors immigrated to the United States and Israel after their return from the camps.

After the Holocaust, the United States, through the American Joint Distribution Committee and other organizations, assisted the Jewish Communities financially in their re-organization. At the same time, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, with limited financial resources, tried to protect and preserve the historic monuments that prove the Jewish presence here.

Today there are 5,000 Jews in Greece. Only three Jewish Communities are fully organized and active. Five other Communities are semi-active.

According to data, important old monuments of Jewish culture survive in Greece today. These monuments have historic value and great significance for the European and world Jewish history.

If these monuments are not protected efficiently, it is certain that in the course of time, they will be trespassed upon, destroyed and lost, as has unfortunately been the case in the past.

We believe that this is a very significant project, and that monuments, whether old or new, do not only belong to the people that created them, but to humanity as a whole. We therefore appeal to the organizations of cultural and historic heritage in order to protect the Jewish Monuments in Greece.