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Racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia are the main characteristics of Golden Dawn as stated in the International Religious Freedom Report of the U.S. Department of State.

According to the observations of experts, the number of cases of attacks on foreign nationals mostly from Muslim countries as well as of anti-Semitic acts in the country has increased with the entry of Golden Dawn in parliament. There are recorded cases of vandalism in the Jewish cemeteries in Drama and Ioannina but the police are unable to identify the perpetrators despite persistent investigations.

The U.S. foreign affairs service attaches particular importance to party leader Nikos Michaloliakos as reported by To Vima. Michaloliakos’ profile is presented as follows: "Party leader Nikos Michaloliakos has publicly and repeatedly denied the Holocaust and often given Nazi salutes at public events."

The report notes that the government of Greece rejects and strongly condemns the attacks on citizens of different religions or national origin and that little is being done to curb the phenomenon. At the same time, polls show that the support for Golden Dawn has been growing which is further disturbing the observers.

The Department of State emphasizes the observations of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, which is criticizing the Greek police that they have made insignificant efforts to reduce the xenophobic acts of Golden Dawn. In addition, almost nothing has been done for the construction of a mosque in Athens.

The Department of State emphasizes the observations of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch, which is criticizing the Greek police for having made insignificant efforts to reduce the xenophobic acts of Golden Dawn. In addition, almost nothing has been done for the construction of a mosque in Athens.

On the other hand, the report refers to two cases over the past year, when the government applied the blasphemy law. The first was the arrest of a man, aged 27, who had created a satirical Facebook page named after a legendary Greek monk.

The other case was the charges of religious desecration and blasphemy against the director and leading actor of the "Corpus Christi" play. It presented Jesus Christ and the apostles as homosexuals. "The theatre cancelled performances of the play a few days after its October premiere due to violent protests by some Greek Orthodox priests and Golden Dawn supporters. Several Golden Dawn members of parliament blocked the entrance of the theatre and clashed with police on opening night. Police charged one member of parliament with intervening in the arrest of a protestor," the report states.

Meanwhile, the tripartite coalition is preparing to vote a bill against racism in Greece. It provides for six months imprisonment and a fine of 5 to 20 thousand euro for exerting violence against a person on the basis of colour, race, origin or sexual orientation; imprisonment of up to two years for participants in vandalism and for persons, who publicly deny crimes against humanity by calling for violence. These persons may be deprived of civil rights for one to five years depending on the severity of the crime.

The Minister of Justice, in turn, may impose a fine, revoke the licence and terminate the payment of state aids to a legal entity or association that disseminates racist ideas or if its members commit any of the offences mentioned previously.

It seems that the bill against racism is being created to restrain the manifestation of violence and intimidation by members of Golden Dawn towards non-Greeks. Local analysts warn that acts of hatred and violence are not typical only of the radical right and neo Nazi movements in the country. Representatives of the radical left have often been heard in the past inciting violence and extreme actions against certain groups, political parties and different ways of thinking. Representatives of the church comment that the line between the limitation of verbal abuse and suppression of free speech is thin. The priests of Egialia state that they firmly condemn any form of racism but believe that the law will stifle freedom of thought and speech as reported by ERT.