Signs of commercial relations between Athens and Judea

There is evidence of small Jewish population in Athens. Not organized in a community yet.

First report of a small Jewish community in Athens. A Synagogue is also reported.

Mohammad the 2nd, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, gives the Greeks the right not to allow Jews live in the territory of the Christians.

The Greek Christians do not object to the big wave of Sephardic Jews coming from the Expulsion from Spain. Those populations will find shelter in Thessaloniki mostly, but also in Larissa, Halkida and Athens.

There are in Athens 15-20 Jewish families.

The Jewish communities of the Peloponese and that of Athens are totally destroyed by the Greek Revolution of Independence, who see threat in their conservative attitude.

King Otto will bring with him some Jewish families. Among them, very close to the king, banker Max Rochild. A small community is formed again.

The Duchess of Placence donates a big piece of land next to Syntagma square (center of Athens) for the building of the new Synagogue. Nine years later, the duchess dies and the municipally of Athens cancels the donation.

The Jewish community of Athens numbers 60 people and ten years later, 250. In 1901, 800. In 1925, 6.000.

The Jewish community of Athens is officially recognized by the Greek government. First president is Charles Rochild.

With the Balcan wars, the economic situation favors Athens, which by the time is no more than a simple town but growing fast. Many Jews from Greek cities still out of the official borders of the country, come to Athens. Salonica becomes part of Greece, with its huge Jewish community. In total there are 120.000 Jews in Greece, the largest number it ever had.

Big fire destroys the center of Salonica. By that time the majority of the population and the most important men in the city are Jews. Many will come to Athens after the fire, some will go to Haifa, but the Jewish element in Thessaloniki will remain strong until the second world war, when it will be destroyed completely.

The Jewish community of Athens numbers 3000 people. Most of them are Sephardic, some are Romaniote and very few are Askenazic. The Sephardic are the poorest and most traditional. They are occupied as peddlers, street vendors, antique dealers or small shopkeepers.The Romaniote are the ancient Jews that have been in Greece from the Roman or Byzantine times. They look assimilated, dress and speak like the Greeks, but they have a clear Jewish identity. The few Askenazic Jews are normally richer and living in better parts of the city.

2nd world war. During the war Greece had 3 zones of occupation, the Italian, the Bulgarian and the German. Athens was given to the Italians. This is the basic reason why Athens was for many Greek-Jews, the only hope in the world. With the help of the city-police, the Greek-Orthodox church and the simple people, many Jews were saved in Athens or escaped towards the middle East Turkey and Palestine. The disaster in the Bulgarian and German zone of occupation was huge. The result is a loss of the 87% of the Jewish population of Greece.

The community today.  After the war, it took a while until the community could stand on its own feet. The "Joint Distribution Commitee" gave considerable help and so did the many volonteers, Jews and non-Jews. Today the Jewish Community of Athens has aprox 2600 members. It is a small but very active community, still basing its function in donations and groops of volonteers, has acheeved much and continues to support the Jewish School, the Jewish Cemetery, to lead health-care programms and finantial help for the needing members of the community.