Due to the long presence of Greek Jewry, before World War II there were organized Jewish communities in 28 cities of Greece. Specifically, these communities were located in Athens, Agrinio, Alexandroupolis, Arta, Veria, Volos, Drama, Didymoteicho, Zakynthos, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Kastoria, Corfu, Komotini, Kos, Larissa, Nea Orestiada – Soufli, Xanthi, Patras, Preveza, Rhodes, Serres, Trikala, Chania, Florina and Ioannina. The total number of Greek Jews amounted to 77,377 people, with Thessaloniki having the largest Jewish population in the country.
After the Holocaust and the mass murder of 65,000 Greek Jews in death camps and the emigration of several survivors to Israel, the number of Greek citizens of Jewish faith decreased significantly, the majority of whom live in Thessaloniki and Athens.
Eight Jewish Communities operate in Greece today, namely in the cities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Volos, Ioannina, Trikala, Chalkida and Corfu. In addition, the Communities of Rhodes, Veria, Kavala and Karditsa have been in a state of inactivity since 1970, under the management of a committee appointed by the Ministry of Education, as they have fewer than twenty family members.
In the active communities operate a total of eleven synagogues that cover the worship needs of their members. In Athens there are two synagogues, in Thessaloniki three, while Larissa, Volos, Ioannina, Trikala, Chalkida and Corfu have one synagogue. Similarly, three synagogues continue to operate in idle communities, one in Rhodes, one in Kavala and one in Veria. In Crete, the only surviving synagogue is Etz Hayyim, located in Chania.
Source: 2023, Έκθεση Γενικής Γραμματείας Θρησκευμάτων, YΠΑΙΘΑ, Περιστατικά εις βάρος χώρων θρησκευτικής σημασίας στην Ελλάδα