The British embassy in Greece is facing questions after its Remembrance service did not include a rabbi, despite the presence of Jews among service personnel buried at the cemetery.
Christian priests and an imam were in attendance at the ceremony at Phaleron near Athens on Sunday and recited prayers.
Israel’s ambassador to Greece, Pninat Yannay was also present and has condemned the omission of a representative of the Jewish faith.
She said: “There was no kadish or hashkava said for the Jewish soldiers who fell in service of the British Army.
“Those soldiers whose graves proudly carry the star of David were not given the same religious respect that their comrades in arms were.
“This caused me a huge amount of pain, especially because this was an official British ceremony, a country that regularly preaches to Israel about rights, and has even taken extreme steps such as sanctions.
“I would have expected that a country [the UK] which regularly talks about human rights, and which criticises other countries … to give the same respect to Jewish soldiers that it does to those of other religions.”
Yannay expressed her “dismay” at the lack of a Jewish faith representative to the organisers of the remembrance service and further claimed that there hadn’t been Jewish representation at the event for “a number of years”, which she objected to.
Israel’s ambassador then claimed to have received an official apology from Britain’s representative in Greece.
“The acting ambassador came back to me and apologised and even offered to put on an additional and special memorial service for the Jewish soldiers who died fighting for Britain. I appreciated her reaching out and willingness to right a wrong and I thanked her for that”.
She continued: “I’m sure the matters were taken to heart and that we won't have a repeat of Jewish soldiers not being respected by saying the hashkava or kadish in their memory.”
Yannay said that she had moved an “important” meeting in order to make sure she would be able to attend the remembrance service and that she was delighted that she had done so.
“I’m delighted that I had the opportunity to do right by those Jewish souls”, she said, adding that she didn’t think similar scenes would repeat themselves in the future.
“Remembrance isn’t just our duty to the past. It is a test of our present values. To all those youngsters, Jewish or non-Jewish who sacrificed their lives for the future of the free world. Thank you. May your memories be a blessing”.
The row comes as relations between London and Jerusalem have become increasingly fraught.
On Tuesday, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar criticised Ed Miliband for releasing a video on the humanitarian situation in Gaza without mentioning Hamas.
The Likud politician said: "It is Hamas that is responsible for the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis: it launched the October 7 invasion and massacre; prolonged the war by refusing to release the hostages for 2 years; embedded its operations within civilian areas in Gaza.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.
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