AHEPA e-News! - Vol. 13 Issue 9 - Wednesday, March 6, 2019

In Letter to Pompeo, AHEPA Urges U.S. to Act as Turkish Troops Violate Status Quo on Cyprus AHEPA sent a letter Feb. 26 to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo conveying the Order's strong concern about the Turkish military's advancement in the area of the Cypriot village of Strovilia, announced Supreme President George E. Loucas. According to news reports, the Turkish military's incursion occurred between February 1 and February 11, 2019. The United Nations peacekeeping mission has recorded the Turkish military's action as a breach of the area's status quo. Supreme President Loucas urged the U.S. government to denounce the act and to address it with the highest levels of Turkish government.  read the letter AHEPA Represented at Trilateral Diaspora Conference in Jerusalem Supreme Governor Region 10 Phanos Pitiris represented AHEPA at a conference of diaspora leaders from Greece, Cyprus, and Israel hosted in concurrence with The Jewish Agency for Israel Board of Governors meeting in Jerusalem, Feb. 26 and 27, 2019. Supreme Governor Pitiris (center) is pictured with The Jewish Agency for Israel's Chairman of the Executive Isaac Herzog (left) and Chairman of the Board Michael Siegal (right).  Civic Responsibility | Join Us for Capitol Hill Day Walk the Halls of Congress and fulfill your civic responsibility with us at our annual 2019 Capitol Hill Day, Wed., April 10. Join us and fellow advocates from across the United States to educate members of Congress and their staffs on the public policy priorities of the AHEPA family and help grow the Congressional Hellenic Caucus. With more than 100 new members of Congress, there's plenty of work to do! RSVP by Wed., March 27. More details to come!   RSVP form | promo video | 2018 highlights Call for Applications | Honor Excellence in Athletics AHEPA presents scholarships and awards to outstanding athletes, scholar-athletes, and former athletes annually at its Athletic Luncheon held at the AHEPA Family Supreme Convention. Don't miss out! Know of a standout athlete who excels in their individual sport(s) or who displays excellence in the classroom and volunteerism? Or a former athlete worthy to join the ranks of 140-plus members of the AHEPA Athletic Hall of Fame? Nominate a standout candidate today! Deadline is March 15, 2019 for both applications. Scholar-Athlete Awards Nomination Form AHEPA Athletic Hall of Fame Nomination Form Make Plans Today! | 2019 Supreme Convention Chicago will play host to the 97th AHEPA Family Supreme Convention, July 1 to 6, 2019. The Palmer House Hilton Hotel will be the venue.  Initial details, including hotel accommodations, can be found here. Secure the $159 plus tax per night room rate by making your reservationtoday!  National Scholarship, Journey to Greece Applications Available The AHEPA National Educational Foundation has posted applications for its National Scholarship program and Journey to Greece program.  Deadline: to apply for a National Educational Foundation scholarship is March 31, 2019. (apply now) (promo video) Deadline: to apply for the Journey to Greece program is April 20, 2019. (apply now) (promo video) Apply Today! | 2019 AHEPAcademy Session  Calling all high school juniors! Join a select group of Greek American students from across the country for AHEPAcademy, an interactive leadership and professional development program. The 2019 session will be held June 23 to 29 at George Mason University (located in northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC).  Program overview Early Application Deadline: March 15, 2019 Extended Deadline: April 15, 2019 Share: AHEPAcademy promo video (via Facebook) Apply Today! Don't forget to follow AHEPA on social media:                                  NEW!

Join AHEPA Today! In Our Own Words. What AHEPA means to us. Join AHEPA Now Upcoming Events & Deadlines   March 30 | Greek Independence Day Parade, Tarpon Springs, Fla. April  10 | AHEPA Family Capitol Hill Day, Washington, D.C. 14 | Greek Independence Day Parade, New York City Greek American News Digest   Editor's Note: Editorials, commentaries, opinion pieces, and articles are shared for information purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the Order of AHEPA, its affiliated organizations, and members.     Yannis Behrakis, award-winning Reuters photographer, dies aged 58 Reuters (March 2) Yannis Behrakis, one of Reuters' most decorated and best-loved photographers, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 58.  read more Exxon's Cyprus gas discovery adds another giant to East Med collection Reuters (Feb. 28)   ExxonMobil added another giant gas discovery to the east Mediterranean region after finding a gas-bearing reservoir offshore Cyprus but infrastructure bottlenecks and geopolitical disputes mean output from the field could be far off.  read more Mike Pompeo likely to join Greece-Cyprus-Israel summit, says US envoy Ekathimerini (March 1) A day after energy giant ExxonMobil announced it had discovered a natural gas reservoir in Cyprus's Block 10, US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is likely to participate in the next trilateral summit between Greece, Cyprus and Israel which will be held in March in Israel.  read more Delphi Economic Forum: Intense focus on Southeastern Europe New Europe (March 4) Now in its fourth year, the 2019 Delphi Economic Forum (DEF) has grown into a true Davos-like venue, with groups from all over the planet vying to use the Forum to broadcast their message.  This year's theme was "The Challenge of Inclusive Growth."  read more Princeton University Denies Patriarchate's Allegations, Sues for Legal Costs The National Herald (March 1) Princeton University denies the Patriarchate's allegations that it has unlawful possession of stolen Byzantine manuscripts, as described in the lawsuit filed by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. At the same time, Princeton is suing for reimbursement of the costs incurred in the case.  read more An Open Letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Donald Tusk, President of the European Council The New York Review of Books (March 21) In 2010 The Athens Review of Books (ARB), the Greek counterpart of The New York Review of Books, published a letter from a reader that mentioned the political past of Nikolaos Kotzias as a leading member of the Communist Party of Greece and characterized him as a fanatic Stalinist ("gauleiter of Stalinism") at that time. Mr. Kotzias (who in the 1970s and 1980s wrote books praising the totalitarian Erich Honecker regime in East Germany and Wojciech Jaruzelski's dictatorship in Poland, and went on to serve as foreign minister of Greece from 2015 to 2018) then sued the ARB for defamation, demanding U250,000 in compensation.  read more 5th century Greek inscription found at site of ancient Samaritan rebellion The Times of Israel (Feb. 27) Rare mosaic attests to the 1,600-year-old holdings of wealthy landowner 'Master Adios' in the heartland of a Samaria at war with the encroaching Christian empire.  read more