The branching out of the Greek neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party into a New York City office triggered protests in the neighborhood of Astoria, a Greek-American enclave, where hundreds of people gathered to show their displeasure the group had come to the U.S. Golden Dawn has 18 seats in the Greek Parliament and is rising fast, ranking third among Greek parties after overtaking the once-dominant PASOK Socialists.
At the event in the Athens Square party, people protested the party’s extremist views, which are aimed at ethnic groups, immigrants, gays and political persuasions different from its far-right views.
The event was co-sponsored by the Left Movement N.Y. and Occupy Wall Street Movement. Various university , activist and student foundations also, took part in the demonstration. Some Jewish organizations participated as well.
The protesters criticized Golden Dawn’s ideology and actions, which have been said to include attacks on immigrants in Greece. Among those attending were the President of Communication Workers of America, Arthur Heliotis; Despina Lalaki, a professor at NYU; anthropologist Neni Panurgia; surveyor Ackileas Akrivos, and Dimitris Panagiotakis, a professor of Sociology at City University of New York.
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