Fire @ Shul in Corfu, Greece; Deemed Vandalism

This is obviously a wake up call to Jews in Greece, and throughout Europe. This was an act of arson and not an accident.

We are not making any recommendations or suggestions that Greece is particularly unsafe for Jewish travel or visitors, but we do ask that you heed caution regardless of where you are traveling around the world.

Original article on Jpost.com

By JPOST.COM STAFF
04/19/2011

Unknown assailants break into Corfu synagogue, pile and burn various religious literature, books, documents in front of rabbi’s platform.

A synagogue located on the Greek island of Corfu was set on fire late Tuesday night, damaging religious books and documents, local police told AFP reporters.

After breaking down the back door of the 19th century building after 3 a.m., the unknown arsonists made a pile of various religious literature, books and documents in front of the rabbi’s platform (bima) and then set them a blaze, a senior police officer said.

The synagogue was closed at the time, resulting in no injuries.

A passing police vehicle noticed the fire and reported the incident, the officer said.

In 2010, a similar act of vandalism in Crete destroyed hundreds of rare religious books.

Kosher Cruises to Israel

Flipping through the Jewish Press I came across an ad for Kosher Cruises. That didn’t catch my eye, but when I saw “First Ever Kosher Cruise to Israel & Egypt” I said wait… that’s cool.

The cruise is Glatt Kosher includes stops in Naples, Italy; Athens & Rhodes, Greece; Ephesus (Kusadasi), Turkey; Haifa & Ashdod, Israel; and Alexandria, Egypt. The “Ancient Empires” tour is a 13-day cruise on the brand new Celebrity ship Equinox round-trip from Rome. The trip leaves August 18-31, 2009. Click here for the full itinerary.

While this trip does sound amazing, it costs a whopping $4,550 per person for the crappiest room available. That cost doesn’t even include another $650+ in additional charges and taxes. That’s a bit steep for me… but if you can afford it, have fun!

The cruise is run by Lasko Tours which runs fancy holiday programs, especially Pesach, and numerous cruises around the globe. Mr. Lasko, is there any way you can take me and my wife on one of your cruises? I’m sure I can work out a way to help market your company.

✈ Keeping Kosher in Greek Isles, Greece

Contributed by: Tina Pollack | Last Date of Travel: July 2007

Kosher Info: The Greek Islands do not have any established Jewish
communities, thus finding accessible kosher food could be difficult.
See http://www.chabad.gr/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/66080/jewish/Kosher-products-list.htm
for a list of kosher products available throughout Greece. The Islands
have a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables and also different types of
freshly caught kosher fish. The restaurants in Greece, including the
Islands, will rinse and double wrap your fish in foil before placing
it on the grill (they only use olive oil and some spices for grilling
the fish). You can ask them not to open the foil packages until brought to the table. You should inquire about the bread and salad at the restaurants.

Tourist Info: The Greek Islands are spectacular. They are easy to get
to from the port in Athens or you can island hop, depending on your
travel course. The Islands are also generally cheaper than Athens and
getting there is not too pricey by the ferries. http://www.greeka.com is one website with info how to access the islands and info about island.

We visited Poros, Santorini, and Naxos. Each island had its own flavor and atmosphere,
but all were beautiful, fun and relaxing. There are some sites, like
ancient ruins, to see on the Islands, but the best part is soaking in
the Mediterranean sun and enjoying the clear blue water and really
appreciating the culture of the islands. Everything is very relaxed
there and the locals are generally friendly and laid-back.

The Island of Santorini has the most to do and is also the most beautiful (think
white washed homes with domed blue roofs). We stayed in Perissa
Village (our hostel, Youth Hostel Anna, provided transportation from
the port There is a day-long boat trip that we took that takes you to
different points around the island, including a swim in a sulfur pool,
a hike along an extinct volcano, a donkey ride up the steep cliffs of
the island, and to the town of Oia, the site of the famous and
stunning sunsets overlooking the caldera and sea.

There are also lots of different beaches which are all different from each other. We
rented a car for one day to navigate around the island since it is
large and the public transportation is not extensive or reliable. We
visited the Red Beach, Black Beach and White Beach, the lighthouse,
and took a trip to one of the many famous wineries of Santorini. The
nightlife in Santorini is another reason why the island is so famous.
After a day of relaxing on the beach, all these bars/clubs/lounges
open up on a nearly endless strip along the water, each with its own
theme.

Naxos was a more family-oriented island, but the beaches were
very calm and had nice, soft sand. There is also a ruined temple of
Poseidon we visited while there. Poros was our favorite because it
was the most relaxing of the three islands and the whole atmosphere of
the island is very laid-back. It was also the least touristy so not
too crowded and felt more “authentic.” The island is not that big and
we mostly spent time on the beaches (smooth pebbles, not sand) which
are located sporadically along the coast of the island.

Poros is also closest to Athens, which made it easy (and more comforting) to get
back in time for Shabbos. We did not organize a place to stay when
coming to Poros but we found a cheap, great room right as we got off
the boat. There are rental places that have rooms available right
away and can easily be bargained down. Though we did not do this for
the other islands, I believe all islands have a similar system.

Jewish Info: The Greek Islands do not have any established Jewish
communities, history or culture on the Islands. The Jewish
communities are in Thessaloniki (Saloniki) and Athens. We spent
Shabbos in Athens since there was a minyan and access to kosher food.
We ate both Shabbos meals at the Hendel’s, the Chabad couple in
Athens. See their website http://www.chabad.gr for more info.