Interview with Zanet Battinou, Director of the Jewish Museum of Greece, about the events organized within the framework of the European Days of Jewish Culture, including the Hannah project, fighting anti-Semitism through education and knowledge.
Jguideeurope : Are you participating in this year’s European Days of Jewish Culture ? If so, what will be organized in Athens ?
Zanet Battinou : We are. We will offer an educational program for families with children aged 9-15 entitled “Words and letters through time”, based on the new art exhibition “The Art of Memory and Commemoration”. Additionally, we organize a national conference – in the framework of the “CHallenging And DebuNkiNg Antisemitic MytHs (HANNAH)” project and we will offer a guided tour on the new contemporary exhibition “Stone Paths – Stories Set in Stone: Jewish Inscriptions in Greece” , combined with the screening of a documentary film – part of the documentary series of the HANNAH project, which focuses on Jewish history, culture, and life, the phenomenon of antisemitism and different approaches on combatting it in five European cities: Athens, Dresden, Hamburg, Krakow and Novi Sad.
Are there educational projects proposed by the JMG and how is the city of Athens participating in the sharing of Jewish culture?
The city of Athens usually organizes events in October – when the city was liberated, and they include some exhibitions or lectures based on Jewish testimonies. Furthermore, on the 27th January, the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, many commemorational events take place. This year, the building of the Parliament presented a relevant lit slide commemorating the Holocaust on its façade for the first time.
Which aspects of Greece’s Jewish culture are the summer tourists mostly interested about?
Basically, we’ve noticed that they are interested in visiting all the Jewish sites in the areas they visit – in Athens the JMG is one of their main interests, as well as the synagogue.