Georgiadis and Konstantopoulou Clash in Parliament Over Israel (VID)

by · Greek City Times

Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis and Freedom of Sailing party leader Zoe Konstantopoulou exchanged personal insults and accusations in Parliament during a heated confrontation over Georgiadis’s attendance at a meeting with Israeli officials in Athens on 12 October.

Konstantopoulou accused Georgiadis of attending a “secret meeting” at the Athens Club with the Israeli ambassador, Israel’s Minister of Technology and other figures. She questioned whether he had attended in his official capacity and whether Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Speaker of Parliament had received prior notification.

Georgiadis rejected the suggestion that the meeting was secret, saying the event had attracted around 200 guests in central Athens. He also confirmed that he had not informed the prime minister or the Speaker, arguing that he did not need their permission to attend.

The exchange escalated as both politicians traded accusations, with Konstantopoulou calling Georgiadis a “fascist” and the minister asking whether she considered herself a “national prosecutor”.

Konstantopoulou Questions Meeting With Israeli Officials

Read more: Minister: Greece Must Defend Against Turkey, Not Serve Palestinian Interests

Konstantopoulou opened the exchange with an ironic remark, telling the health minister that she wanted to ask him something serious rather than distract him from his “acrobatics and exclamations”.

She accused Georgiadis of secretly meeting members of his party alongside groups and figures she associated with international Zionism. She also questioned whether the meeting served the interests of a foreign state.

Georgiadis responded that Konstantopoulou had confused him with another politician, referring to an earlier incident involving her confrontation with PASOK MP Christos Christidis. He dismissed the allegation of secrecy, arguing that a meeting attended by 200 people in central Athens could hardly qualify as secret.

He also challenged the suggestion that his failure to post about the event on social media justified the accusations against him.

The minister defended Greece’s strategic relationship with Israel, tracing its development to 2010 under former prime minister George Papandreou. He cited Israel’s position on the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum and cooperation on the electricity interconnection between the countries as examples of shared strategic interests.

Konstantopoulou Says She Will Pursue Legal Action

The confrontation intensified when Konstantopoulou called Georgiadis a “fascist” and referred to the sale of antisemitic books by Konstantinos Plevris.

She also criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom she described as a friend of Georgiadis, and said she would seek accountability.

“I am pursuing you through criminal proceedings in this parliamentary question, and you should take that into account,” Konstantopoulou told the minister, arguing that he had contradicted himself.

Georgiadis reacted angrily, asking whether she had threatened to put him in prison and dismissing her remarks with the question: “Who do you think you are, madam? The national prosecutor?”

Georgiadis Accuses Konstantopoulou of Betraying Greece

The exchange became increasingly personal as Georgiadis defended the strategic relationship between Greece and Israel, arguing that the two countries’ national interests “coincide absolutely”.

“I’m a fascist, and you’re not a traitor to Greece?” he asked Konstantopoulou, accusing her of acting against the relationship between the two countries.

Konstantopoulou responded with the word “fearless”, prompting another personal attack from the minister.

“Who destroyed your character and made you such a show-off?” Georgiadis asked. He returned the “fascist” accusation, criticising her for speaking rudely to parliamentary colleagues and threatening them.

The confrontation ended amid continued tension, with Georgiadis reiterating that he had attended the meeting and defending his decision to participate.

The exchange highlighted the deep political divisions surrounding Greece’s relationship with Israel, as well as the increasingly personal tone of parliamentary debate.

(Source: AMNA)

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