Category: Letters

Congressman, 

The following letter is intended to convey my opposition to the war on Iran. The Trump administration has ignored diplomacy to pursue another war in the Middle East which is bound to be worse than the war in Iraq. There is no justification for this war. 

Nothing good came from the war in Iraq, and nothing good will come from this war. The reality is that Israel has an excessive influence on our foreign policy. I have been to Israel, and I happen to like Israel. 

But the current government in Israel includes coalition partners who are every bit as fanatical as the Ayatollahs in Iran. The Trump administration includes officials such as Mike Huckabee as Ambassador to Israel who promotes his own religious beliefs as if they are American foreign policy. As a Greek Orthodox Christian who totally rejects the Ambassador’s view of the Bible, I find this offensive.

The Trump administration is pursuing a war based on the religious views of certain Evangelicals (not all of them) who can be properly viewed as a cult. Such individuals which include the Senator Lindsay Graham favor a war based not on the country’s interests but on their own religious views which the overwhelming majority of Christians worldwide 
(Especially the Middle East) reject.

Both Iran and Israel have religious extremists in their governments. The US should not allow its own fanatics to influence American foreign policy. Congress should refuse to support this war and impeachment of the President should be taken into consideration.

Theodore Karakostas

In light of the Israeli bombing of Iran, I am hereby returning my membership card in the Republican Party. I voted for President Trump on the basis of his anti war stances. His capitulation to Israel and its bombing of Iran is immoral and reprehensible.

As a Greek Orthodox Christian, I wish to object to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. This genocide is directed at Palestinian Christians as well as Muslims. And I condemn anti semitism and terrorist crimes against Israelis as well.

It is time for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza and for a two state solution of the Arab Israeli conflict. With Trump’s America first program, I thought I was voting for the heir to Patrick Buchanan.

Instead, I ended up voting for the heir to the contemptible George W. Bush. I voted for Trump to keep the neocons from starting wars. He has failed by indulging the Israeli attack on Iran. Might as well have Dick Cheney as President.

What can one say about a President who takes advice from Mark Levine? Incidentally, I threw my MAGA hat in the garbage where it belongs. 

Theodore G. Karakostas 

Dear Congressman,

As a Greek Orthodox I am writing to ask that you urge the White House and State Department to oppose plans by the Egyptian government to convert the Saint Catherine’s Greek Orthodox Monastery in Sinai into a tourist attraction. Saint Catherine’s is one of the oldest Monasteries in the world. It is built on the site where God spoke to Moses through the burning bush.

It is an extremely important holy site and has been continuously inhabited by Greek Orthodox Monks since its establishment in the sixth century century by Emperor Justinian the Great of Constantinople. Your assistance in this will be most appreciated.

Theodore Karakostas

Congressman,

Politics aside, Gaza is a moral issue. Palestinians are being murdered, starved to death, and a plan is afoot to expel them entirely from Gaza so they never return. The Israeli leaders are war criminals.

This is not a reflection on Israel or its people. Only on its right wing lunatic fringe led by the immoral Benjamin Netanyahu. The attacks by Hamas are evil and must be condemned.

The Israeli fascist right is not waging a war on Hamas. They are waging a war on ordinary people who are Palestinians. Ordinary people living in miserable conditions that are dying. 

Netanyahu is widely quoted in announcing his intentions to drive all Palestinians from Gaza. The United States must quite frankly stop taking orders from this man. The Genocide must end.

The leader of Israel must be removed. The US has used its power elsewhere on various occasions. This can be done.

International relief organizations must be permitted access to Gaza and to provide food and water. US policy must guarantee a Palestinian state. Palestinians can no longer be left to live in occupation in light of present day horrors.

Theodore Karakostas 

My name is Theodore Karakostas and I am a
Greek American. I would respectfully like to criticize the “art” that was displayed in your gallery. Those of us who are Orthodox Christians are offended and outraged by the blasphemous depictions of the icons of the most holy Theotokos and our God and savior Jesus Christ, and of the icon of Saint George the great martyr. The display of this “art” was thoughtless and a betrayal of Greece’s Orthodox faith which sustained Hellenism during the centuries of Turkish Occupation. 

The thoughtlessness of depicting this “art” 
Is exacerbated by the genocide now under way in the Middle East which Christian communities from Syria to Gaza are enduring. This is the time of year when the Orthodox are observing Great lent. This is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Perhaps some apologies are in order. The museum and the artist might wish to apologize for the desecration of the icons. Christians are forgiving. The Greek Orthodox Church has permitted museums in America to display their sacred icons in the past. 

Is not the display of desecrated icons a step down for a museum to display? Many of us expect better from Museums which should display real art and not items that glorify destruction.

An icon is a holy item. Christians must not overreact but neither can we be indifferent  to such vile displays. There is a war on Christianity as can be seen by the aforementioned genocide in the Middle East, and an increasing intolerance for Christians among the powerful in Europe and America.

It was Saint John of Damascus who said  that 
Icons are Bibles for the eyes. To desecrate icons is to desecrate books. Those who desecrate books are usually fascists or 
Communists. They are not enlightened and 
the display of this “art” indicates a lack of enlightenment on the part of those who approved it. 

Theodore Karakostas 
Boston, MA
USA

As a Greek Orthodox Christian, I wish to respond to the article by Jo Lawson – Tancred
“Greek politician destroys art.. “. First, let me state that it is not consistent with the precepts of the gospel(especially during the Orthodox period of Lent) to engage in violence. Speaking for myself, I do not approve of violence in response to the blasphemous paintings in the Athens Museum.

It is indicative of how far the art world has fallen when it chooses to honor “art” that can only be seen as vile and reprehensible. The artist in question states that he did not mean to be offensive. It is indicative of his own ignorance if he did not understand how profaning the icons of Christ, the Mother of God, and Saint George the Great Martyr would offend Christians.

In my opinion the Art gallery in Athens should be defunded if public funds are being used to subsidize this sort of “art”. As Christians we are taught to forgive and to pray for those who persecute us. The artist in question would demonstrate enormous good will if he were to apologize for desecrating the holy icons and if the art community were to be more sensitive in terms of what they endorse.

Orthodox Churches (especially the Greek speaking Churches) have demonstrated remarkable displays of good will for the art community in the past. The Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai has in the past permitted icons to be displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Monasteries of Mount Athos have likewise cooperated with museums in the past by permitting icons to be displayed.

The artistic community is supposed to value and demonstrate artistic expression. The desecration of holy icons in Athens is nothing more than hooliganism and the equivalent of criminal elements who desecrate religious buildings in the commission of a hate crime.

In my view, the Orthodox Church should respond by ceasing any cooperation with the Greek Ministry of Culture in the future. Freedom of expression is one thing, but no one is guaranteed a right to display anti Christian displays in a Museum that is publicly funded by Christians.

In my opinion, this occasion should lead to mutual acts of forgiveness and understanding. The art world should acknowledge the sacrilegious nature of this “art” and should distance itself from it. The Greek Church in turn should call its faithful to order and to protest using peaceful means at a time when the Orthodox observe the period of Lent.

Theodore Karakostas 
Boston, Ma
USA 

Letter to Foreign Affairs Magazine

The following letter is intended to convey a critical view of NATO in response to “What NATO means to the World” by Jens Stoltenberg. Being of Greek ancestry, I am acutely aware that NATO has double standards. A perfect example of this is NATO’s treatment of Greece and Cyprus. Greece has been on the receiving end of Turkish threats and the government in Ankara has openly claimed the Greek islands. NATO member Turkey is an aggressor state and an outright sponsor of terrorism and jihadism as can be seen by its alliances with pro Al Quada elements and its tolerance of Islamic State. 

Turkey also invaded the Republic of Cyprus in 1974, which is not a member of NATO. This makes NATO itself an aggressor and supporter of Turkish ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories of Cyprus. More recently, the Greek Prime Minister asked Secretary Stolenberg himself to condemn Turkish threats against Greece. Mr. Stoltenberg refused to so do, making him and NATO hypocrites who are ready to sacrifice Greece and Cyprus to Turkey. In addition, NATO has looked the other way as Turkey aided and abetted the genocide of Armenians from Artsakh by the fascist-jihadist regime in Azerbaijan.

The NATO alliance is not indispensable. It is in many ways a threat to small countries considered of less importance as can be seen by the struggles of Armenia, Cyprus, 
and Greece. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston

The following letter is in response to the February 23 interview with former American National Security Advisor John Bolton. Mr. Bolton is a notorious “neoconservative” and advocate for the pro war foreign policy of the United States. Much of the interview focused on Donald Trump and the possibility of a future Trump administration leaving NATO. NATO has not been good for Greece. The staff at Ekathemerini need reminding that after the anti Greek pogroms of September 1955 and the further ethnic cleansing campaigns by Turkey against the Greeks of Constantinople and the islands of Imbros and Tenedos, NATO did nothing to condemn the Turks or to restrain them. 

NATO member Turkey invaded Cyprus and still occupies thirty seven percent of Cyprus after having ethnically cleansed Greek Cypriots from the occupied territories. History has shown that American wars in the middle east and American and European wars (hot and cold) against Russia increases the west’s reliance on Turkey. This is what happened in 1853 after the outbreak of the Crimean War when an anti Russian hysteria in Europe broke out. Great Britain and France went to war on behalf of the Ottoman Empire against the Russians.

The more recent anti Russian hysteria which broke out in the United States over the past decade has led to a revival of the traditional 
pro Turkish foreign policy by NATO and the United States. The Russians in turn have sought to counter NATO by attempting to gain Turkey as an ally. This rivalry between the west and Russia has once again increased Turkish influence and power as both Washington and Moscow desire Turkey as an ally. 

Either the abolition of NATO or a reconciliation between the west and Russia is a necessity for Greece. While the west has viewed Moscow as its main enemy, Turkey has gradually been increasing its influence and power over the Middle East, the Balkans, and Central Asia. Turkey assisted Azerbaijan in the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. Where is NATO to condemn the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression?

The former administration of Donald Trump was unique in recent American history. It did not start any wars in contrast to its predecessors,or its successor. This is important for Greece as long as American administrations come along which seek to pursue policies in pursuit of an empire, and wars specifically in areas surrounding Turkey, then Ankara will be looked upon as indispensable for American and western interests. It would be beneficial for Greece to have an administration in office that seeks to stop intervening abroad and considers dismantling the Cold War era alliance. 

It is telling that the interviewer only asked one question about Greece and that was the very last question. The interview focused exclusively on NATO. Greek interests do not coincide with NATO or the pro war policies that American officials such as Mr. Bolton support. Greece’s primary interests lie in self defense against increasing hostility and territorial expansionism openly espoused by Turkish President Erdogan and other Turkish officials. 

When Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis appealed to NATO to demand that Turkey stop threatening to invade the Greek islands, the Secretary General of NATO refused to intercede. When Athens asked Germany to stop the sale of submarines to Turkey, the German government refused. Greece is in serious trouble with “allies” such as this. 




Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA
USA

The following letter is in response to the February 16 item “Turkey and Greece to join European missile shield”. The report states that the initiative is intended against the kind of attacks that Russia launched against Ukraine. There is plenty of irony in this assertion and the article in general. Europe has been attacked in recent years by Al Quada and ISIS, not by the Russians. This is an important fact to point out because NATO member Turkey which has been invited to join the Sky Shield Initiative has been a prominent collaborator with both ISIS and Al Quada. 

Columbia University published an entire report that showed the extent to which Turkey was helping ISIS when the latter was engaging in full scale genocide against Christians, Shiite Muslims, and Yazidis. Furthermore, Turkey has been assisting the Al Nusra front and others in Syria who were part of Al Quada’s terrorist network. The Turkish government was supporting Al Quada elements who were fighting in the civil war in Libya as well. Most recently, Turkey exported Al Quada terrorists from Libya and Syria where they participated in the genocide and ethnic cleansing of ethnic Armenians by the Turkish army of Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

The article falsely states that Turkey has “a longstanding rivalry and unresolved disputes with fellow alliance member Greece”. Actually, this is not true. Turkey is a predator nation that has openly threatened to invade Greece and seize the Greek islands that are located near the Asia Minor coast. The leader of one of Turkey’s fascist parties (National Action Party) openly displayed a map which showed the Greek islands as being part of Turkey.

In 1974, Turkey invaded and occupied thirty seven percent of Cyprus and instituted a policy of ethnic cleansing against 200,000 ethnic Greeks. Turkey has also threatened Cyprus over oil rights which belong under the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus. Inviting Turkey to join the Sky Shield Initiative is absurd. The greatest threat facing Europe comes from Turkey under the leadership of Recep Teyyip Erdogan who has threatened to flood Europe with millions of refugees. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA

The following is in response to the Guardian’s February 15 article on the lamentable decision of the Greek Parliament to recognize something as fictitious as “same sex marriage”. As an Orthodox Christian of Hellenic ancestry in America, I for one believe this was a deplorable decision by the Greek Parliament.

It was done undemocratically without conferring with the Greek people who were not even permitted a referendum on the matter. All of a sudden, the institution of marriage is altered and changed because the Prime Minister in an authoritarian manner chose to align himself with the ideological interests of America and Europe rather than with the traditional culture and faith of Greece. The issue here has nothing to do with equality. Marriageis an institution that has always existed between one man and one woman. 

Greece has been a functioning democracy since 1974 when the military dictatorship collapsed. Greece did not need Prime Minister Mitsotakis to come along to enlighten its traditions and heritage. All Greek citizens enjoy protection under the law, and this includes homosexuals. During the centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule, and more recently Nazi occupation and a Communist instigated insurgency, it was the Orthodox Church and the family that provided stability for Greece and the ability to rebuild following disastrous wars. 

Same sex marriage is a foreign idea that is the product of western moral confusion that has been imposed on Greece. This can be seen by the American and various European Embassies who gleefully congratulated the Greek Prime Minister after passing this notorious law. Every nation has its own faith and cultural traditions. What might work in one country does not work in another country. 

In any case, a great injustice has just been committed by the government of Greece against its own citizens. This is a historical affront and betrayal of Greece’s spiritual heritage and traditions. It is for Greeks such as myself a time of mourning, and not a time of celebration. 

Theodore Karakostas
Boston, MA
USA