THESSALONIKI: SUBWAY CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES NEAR OLD JEWISH

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THESSALONIKI 000023

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SE, EUR/OHI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM GR
SUBJECT: THESSALONIKI: SUBWAY CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES NEAR OLD JEWISH
CEMETERY; PROGRESS ON RESTITUTION NEGOTIATIONS

REF: A. 07 THESSALONIKI 060; B. 08 THESSALONIKI 87

THESSALONI 00000023 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During an April 1 visit to Thessaloniki,
Ambassador J. Christian Kennedy, Special Envoy for the Office of
Holocaust Issues, visited a subway construction site at the edge
of the old Jewish cemetery that has attracted the attention of
American and European Rabbis. The head of metro construction
told Ambassador Kennedy that current and planned excavation was
outside of the cemetery boundaries and that workers had
uncovered no graves or human remains at the site. While the
exact border of the cemetery (destroyed during the Nazi
occupation) is unclear, Post estimates that some of the
construction is likely inside the border, based on current
landmarks and a GoG 1998 map (Refs). The local Jewish community
reaffirmed that it was not trying to stop or monitor closely the
excavation, focusing instead on restitution negotiations, which
appear to be moving forward, albeit slowly. Kennedy suggested
the community urge the GoG to reach a settlement prior to the
Prague Conference on "Holocaust Era Assets" in June. The
Director of Technical Services at Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki informed Kennedy that there has been no progress
towards erecting a plaque commemorating the old Jewish cemetery,
on which the University is built. END SUMMARY.

UNIVERSITY SUBWAY EXCAVATION APPEARS TO BE INSIDE THE
CEMETERY


2. (SBU) On April 1, Ambassador Kennedy visited the
University metro excavation site located near the old Jewish
cemetery (Refs),accompanied by the President of the Jewish
Community of Thessaloniki, David Saltiel, the managing director
of the company overseeing metro construction, Evaggelos
Galousis, and ConGen staff. When Kennedy expressed concern that
some of the excavation and surface construction appeared to be
inside or at least very close to the border of the old Jewish
cemetery, Galousis replied that the metro work was outside of
the cemetery and that workers had not found any graves or human
remains at the site. The local supervisor of GoG Archaeological
Service monitoring the construction corroborated this claim in a
separate conversation with Post. Kennedy urged that metro
authorities do a survey of the site to determine whether metro
construction was taking place or being planned within the old
cemetery, including three ventilation shafts of about 35 square
meters each, which have appeared on the plans only recently.
Post's best estimates, using Google Earth and a 1998 map of the
cemetery commissioned by the Greek government, place some of the
digging and construction, including for the ventilation shafts,
just inside the (no longer visible)old cemetery boundary.

RESTITUTION NEGOTIATIONS MOVING FORWARD, SLOWLY


3. (SBU) Members of the board of the local Jewish
community told Kennedy they were not trying to stop the
excavation nor following the metro construction closely. They
were not sure if some of the construction was taking place
inside the old cemetery boundaries. Rabbi Sheetrit expressed
some frustration about occasional bureaucratic delays in gaining
access to the site, but was otherwise satisfied with cooperation
between local authorities and the community. Jewish community
president Saltiel noted the board was focused on efforts to
reach a settlement with the GoG on compensation for cemetery
land confiscated by Greece during the Nazi occupation.
According to Saltiel, the president of the committee appointed
by the Ministry of Finance to negotiate a settlement with the
community informed him the GoG was preparing to offer a
settlement (in the form of real estate) of about 17 million
euros. Saltiel believes this is a fair amount, if somewhat
lower than the market value of the confiscated land, and said
the community would likely accept the deal if offered in
writing. Kennedy pointed out that the June 26-30 Prague
Conference on "Holocaust Era Assets," would be an excellent
occasion for the GoG and community to announce a settlement on
this longstanding restitution issue. [Note: Kennedy had made
the same point to MFA and Finance Ministry officials in Athens
the previous day (septel). End note] Saltiel said he would urge
his GoG interlocutors to speed up efforts to reach a settlement
with this target in mind. The board also expressed concern over
the recent decision by a Greek appeals court to overturn the
conviction of an extreme right author, Plevris, for inciting
racial hatred with his book, which asserted, inter alia, that
the Holocaust did not happen. Saltiel said he intended to write
a letter to Greek MPs expressing concern about the disturbing
implications of the court decision.

NO PROGRESS ON UNIVERSITY MEMORIAL TO OLD CEMETERY


4. (SBU) Nikos Manousaridis, Director of Technical
Services at Aristotle University, which was built on top of the
cemetery after World War II, told Kennedy there had been no
progress made on the University's commitment to erect a plaque

THESSALONI 00000023 002.2 OF 002


on campus commemorating the cemetery. Manousaridis noted that
the University had been in a state of turmoil for the past
several months, including the December riots and an ongoing
student protest that had prevented the head of the University,
Rector Anastasios Manthos, from meeting with Kennedy.
Manousaridis added he was not confident that University and
Ministry of Education authorities would take the necessary steps
to erect a plaque any time soon.


5. (SBU)COMMENT: While it is encouraging that the GoG is
considering a land-swap settlement with the Jewish community for
property confiscated over 60 years ago, the talks have broken
down many times over the past four years and there are still
many hurdles to clear before the deal is done. The GoG will
have to identify appropriate land to offer the community and
probably obtain parliamentary approval, which may be difficult
in light of the GoG's bare one seat majority and recent scandals
involving land swaps between the GoG and Orthodox Church
officials. Post will continue to monitor the negotiations as
well as metro construction developments.
YEE