In the said image, the Virgin has been replaced by a Palestinian woman who is holding a child with an amputated leg in her arms while in red letters it says "No Christmas in Bethlehem", a clear reference to the Palestinian-Israeli war.
The former MEP reacted angrily and wrote on his page on X:
I didn't want to comment on days like this, but it is not possible. The Glyfada Local of @NewLeftGR made a vulgar post that ridicules and “plays” with the Virgin Mary and Jesus. They chose to create a despicable sketch on a great holiday, perhaps the greatest of my Orthodoxy, this birth of the Jesus. No one and no organization or party has the right to express themselves in this way, disrespecting the beliefs and faith of others, the faith of a people and a nation. Happy New Year, Merry Christmas! May the birth of Jesus bring light to our lives!
He received many attacks for his post, as he himself stated in a new post:
Since the early hours of the morning, on Christmas Day, the known - unknown slanderers, soldiers - members of the deep red sect who have as their gospel the targeting, the slandering through disinformation and the spread of false news, have been attacking me because I dared to criticize the following vulgar and despicable sketch by @naglyfada! Unfortunately, publications like this one from the "Deep Red" website and other sites or newspapers that have similar or common pens are not going to stop. The executives of @NewLeftGR must and have a duty to understand that no one has the right to make statements or movements that offend national symbols, beliefs and the religion of an entire nation. As for the pens whose profession is to deliberately insult and misinform, then something is very wrong. They do not serve journalism, they do not respect the democratic system. For the sake of truth, the sketch of the Local Organization of Glyfada, Hellinikon - Argyroupoli is the one below, and not the one used in the article on the website. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful day with your families and loved ones.
