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SAE President to meet with Patriarch Ireneos today, 'elated' after long struggle to achieve recognition
Chicago, 11/2/2004

THESSALONIKI, January 28 - World SAE President Andrew A. Athens today is arriving in Israel for a meeting with Patriarch Ireneos of Jerusalem following the long-awaited official recognition of Mr. Ireneos by the Israeli government. Mr. Athens will also meet with government officials and representatives of Jewish organizations.

"We are elated that we finally achieved our objective for which we struggled over the past two years in the U.S., in Greece and in Israel," Mr. Athens said. "I feel deeply grateful for all who have helped us and I thank the Israeli government for doing the right thing, even after this delay. When it became apparent that the charges against the Patriarch Ireneos were fraudulent, it also became obvious that there was only one proper course of action for the government of Mr. Sharon."

Ever since the enthronement of the Patriarch of Jerusalem in September, 2001, Mr. Athens has spearheaded a worldwide effort to achieve official recognition of the Patriarch by the Israeli government. More than 156 U.S. Congressmen and Senators have signed a resolution urging the Sharon government to recognize the Patriarch. Among them was Congresswoman Shelley Berkley whose maternal family was from Thessaloniki. SAE's President emphasized that Jewish organizations in the U.S., Greece and Israel have actively supported the recognition.

Mr. Athens has repeatedly appealed to the Israeli government and has held numerous meetings with Israeli and U.S. government officials in order to achieve a positive action from the Israeli government. Just last week Mr. Athens and four other leaders of the Hellenic community met with State Secretary Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice in Washington for discussions on U.S. action in support of the recognition.

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