Website of Greek neo-Nazi party suspended

The Greek neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party, which won nearly 7 percent of the vote in recent elections, has had its official website taken down by its host, WordPress.

“This blog has been archived or suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service,” said a message from WordPress that replaced the Dawn Party’s home page.

The Web page hosting service bars sites that include “hate content” or “contain threats or incite violence towards individuals or entities.”

The extreme-right Golden Dawn Party, whose flag closely resembles the Nazi swastika, received 21 seats in parliament, the first time it passed the threshold to enter the legislative body. It campaigned heavily on an anti-immigrant platform under the slogan “So we can rid this land of filth.”

Despite its strong showing, it is not clear how many Golden Dawn members ultimately will end up as lawmakers, as Greece appears headed to fresh elections. A poll published May 13 indicated that in a new vote, Golden Dawn support would shrink to less than 4 percent.

Greece’s Jewish community has condemned the rise of Golden Dawn as “a serious blow for Greek democracy.” — jta