Chalkida (Chalkis)
Chalkis is the capital of the island of Evoia, one of the ‘Large islands’. The Romaniote Jewish Community of Chalkis has been living in the same city for 2,500 years without interruption. There were also a large number of Spanish Jews who later settled in Chalkis.
In 1940, in the Greek – Italian war one of the first Greek officers who fell heroically in battle was a Jew from Chalkis, Colonel Mordechai Frizis. During the Holocaust Chalkis lost only 22 out of 327 members. This was due to the protection given by fellow citizens, the National Resistance Fighters and by the Metropolitan Bishop Grigorios, who hid sacred objects belonging to the Synagogue inside the Metropolitan Church.
Today there are only 50 Jews living in Chalkis.
Photos by Emmanuel Santos
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