By Michael Zeff/TPS
Jerusalem (TPS) – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem awarded an honorary doctorate to the president of Greece, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, during his state visit to Israel on Wednesday, March 30.
The Hebrew University said it chose to award Pavlopoulos with the honorary degree in recognition of the president’s democratic leadership, dedication to higher education, solidarity and friendship with the State of Israel, and steadfast support for the Greek Jewish community.
“The university is proud to honor a head of state who has remained unblemished by scandal and corruption and maintains warm relations with the State of Israel and the Jewish world,” Ram Semo, head of the Hebrew University Public Relations Division, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).
After his conferment ceremony, Pavlopoulos said, “It is a great honor for me to be given this doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, one of the most important universities in the world.”
Pavlopoulos arrived in Israel to commemorate the 25th anniversary of bilateral Israeli-Greek relations and is the third Greek head of state to visit Israel since relations between the countries were established in 1991.
Prior to the ceremony at the Hebrew University, Pavlopoulos was hosted by President Reuven Rivlin at his residence where the two discussed regional and mutual interests.
“Countries in this region must recognize the common danger posed by militant Islam and IS, unite against this enemy, and form one alliance; a regional security and economic alliance to bring an end to global terror,” Rivlin told the Greek president, using the acronym for the Islamic State.
To which President Pavlopoulos responded, “IS’s terror is aimed at all of humanity. We must make clear to Europe that we stand against terror together, and that when it comes to the issue of the refugees, we will not allow expressions of hatred between people, which is the source of racism and anti-Semitism.”
According to a statement by the Greek presidential delegation, Israel and Greece have strong relations that stem from the ancient bonds of the two countries’ history, academia, and culture, as well as shared goals for economic stability and regional security.
Following Pavlopoulos’ visit to president Rivlin, the Greek president planted an olive tree at Jerusalem’s Grove of Nations Forest near the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum. The Grove of Nations Forest is where visiting heads of state plant a tree as a sign of friendship with the State of Israel and the Jewish people.