Greek American lobby in the United States

The Greek American lobby in the United States refers to the lobbyists, lawyers, and public relation specialists that work to promote U.S. interests in Greece by strengthening the bilateral relationship between the two countries. Such efforts include a decades long presence of public advocacy directed at the U.S. Congress, the Department of State, the White House, and other government institutions.

The oldest Greek American organization specifically dedicated to promoting public policy is the American Hellenic Institute (AHI), founded in 1974 by United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Eugene Rossides.[1][2] Public advocacy is also done by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), which is oldest Greek American organization, being founded in 1922 with a focus on counteracting attacks on Greek Americans by the Ku Klux Klan.[3][4][5]

The Greek American lobby has a history of cooperation with other national lobbies in the United States, most notably being the Jewish American lobby and to a lesser extent the Armenian American lobby.[6]

Role of Greek American public officials

Over the course of American history, Greek Americans have served in many different areas of the government, such as former Vice-president Spiro Agnew, Senators Olympia Snowe, Paul Sarbanes and Paul Tsongas, former CIA Director George Tenet, and 1988 Presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

The Greek American lobby has focused its efforts on building relationships with Greek American public officials and frequently collaborate on different initiatives. For example, the American Hellenic Institute works in conjunction with the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues to co-host an annual Congressional Salute to Greek Independence Day and an annual Congressional Commemoration of the Invasion of the Republic of Cyprus.[7][8]

There are currently 7 Greek Americans serving in the U.S. Congress:

Working in cooperation with the Jewish American lobby

Since the 20th century, the Greek American and Jewish American lobbies in the US have worked in parallel in order to prevent any rise in tensions in the unstable Eastern Mediterranean and promote U.S. foreign policy interests in this region.[9]

Following the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, cooperation between the Greek American and Jewish American lobbies has greatly increased due to the U.S. utilizing Greece and Cyprus in its response to the conflict, such as evacuating U.S. citizens from Israel to Cyprus and using Cyprus as a military staging ground. Additionally, both lobbies assert that US-Turkey relations need to be reevaluated following Turkey's growing hostility to Israel, Greece, and the Republic of Cyprus following October 7, along with Turkey's support of Hamas.[10][11]

This increase in cooperation has been reflected in shared public advocacy efforts, including the American-Hellenic-Israeli Eastern Mediterranean Counterterrorism and Maritime Security Partnership Act of 2025, was initiated by the American Hellenic Institute and has received support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), B'nai B'rith International, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), and The Hellenic American National Council (HANC).[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ News, Greek (2024-08-12). "Reflecting on our Founding of 50 Years Ago: The American Hellenic Institute's Mission and Achievements - Greek News USA". Retrieved 2025-05-06. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ "Tribute to the American Hellenic Institute | eKathimerini.com". www.ekathimerini.com. 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  3. ^ "Forgotten History: The Klan vs. Americans of Greek Heritage in an Era of Hate and the Birth of the AHEPA - The Pappas Post". 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  4. ^ "AHEPA Condemns Publisher's Call for KKK to "Night Ride Again," Calls for His Resignation – The Order of AHEPA". Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  5. ^ "Utah History Encyclopedia". www.uen.org. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  6. ^ "American Hellenic, American Jewish Groups Welcome Announced Greek, Cypriot Leaders' Visits to Israel – COP". conferenceofpresidents.org. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  7. ^ Kouremenos, Achilleas (2024-04-02). "AHI Hosts Congressional Salute to Greek Independence Day". The National Herald. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  8. ^ News, Greek (2024-09-21). "AHI Hosts Congressional Commemoration of 50th Anniversary of Turkish Invasion of Cyprus - Greek News USA". Retrieved 2025-05-06. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ "There is Neither Greek Nor Jew". The Weitzman. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  10. ^ "Jewish, Greek lobbies collaborate in Washington to block Türkiye's F-35 acquisition". Türkiye Today. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  11. ^ "Bipartisan group of 39 legislators calls for classified briefing on Turkey-Hamas alliance". Cleveland Jewish News. 2024-11-25. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  12. ^ "Policy Tracker: H.R. 2510". American Hellenic Institute. Retrieved 2025-05-06.

Further reading

  • Zervakis, Peter A. "The Greek Diaspora in the United States and American Involvement in Greece after World War II," Modern Greek Studies Yearbook (1998), Vol. 14, pp 213–240.
  • Zervakis, Peter A. "The Role of the 'Justice For Greece Committee' for the American Involvement in Greece after World War II," Balkan Studies (1997) 38#1 pp 159–19
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