Representatives of the Greek Jewish community expressed “deep dissatisfaction” with the appointment of Judge Marianti Bagotelli, accused of anti-Semitism, as Vice President of the State Council.

The central office of the Greek Jewish Community said in a statement that it was “concerned that a person has been appointed to the country’s highest judicial body who cannot defend the position of the Greek state against anti-Semitism.”

Bagotelli’s appointment was approved at a ministerial meeting on August 30 at the suggestion of the justice minister, the statement said.

In 2007, Constantinos Plifris demanded from Mariante Bagotelli, author of The Jews of All Truth, known for his Holocaust denial during World War II, after a trial for racist statements and hate speech.

His son, Thanos Blevris, is currently Minister of Health in the conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Greek media reported that during this trial in 2007, Mariante Bagotelli wrote a blog in which she expressed regret that “Hitler did not carry out a complete extermination” of the Jews.

According to a 2021 League of Action and Defense poll, about 36 percent of Greeks have “negative feelings” about Jews, and about 60 percent believe in conspiracy theories about a “secret Jewish network that influences economic and political affairs.”