1909, of the mainly Jewish Federacion. Apprehensive of what the resurgent Greek self-confidence behind the Megali Idea might mean for Jews in Greece and Asia Minor, at the time he labelled the campaign imperialist. He envisaged a state free from any ethnic divisions where Jews could exist unpersecuted and free, retaining their religion. Some of his fears might have been argued to have been realised when after the city's fire, the Venizelos administration did not rebuild the original Jewish section, adopting instead a French town plan, but a considerable proportion of the Jewish population remained throughout the following decades, with the Greek government guaranteeing their rights in March 1926. Benaroya was always very interested in combating anti-Semitism, while over later years he shifted his emphasis to reflect the sizable Thessaloniki Jewish community that chose to remain within the Greek state. Benaroya approaches the Democratic Union After a historic meeting with Venizelos, Benaroya's tactical abilities resulted in the birth of the Socialist Labour Party of Greece (later named Communist) and the General Confederation of Greek Workers, which helped unite Greek workers. Government persecution of the new movement led to a general strike in 1919. Subsequently, social and political polarization, as well as the prestige of the newborn Soviet Union, strengthened the radicals and before long the party was affiliated to the Leninist Third International. The Labour Centre of Salonica, another creation of Benaroya's, which united more than twelve thousand workers of all nationalities, a good part of them Jews, became the focus of radical socialism. The fall of the Venizelos government (1920) and the war in Anatolia fuelled even more dissent, leading to anti-war riots. In the wake of these developments Benaroya, thrown in prison again, as well as most of the leading members of the party, were marginalized by the radicals. On the other hand, moderate socialists under Alexandros Papanastasiou started preparing their own revolution: their primary aim was now to overthrow the Greek monarchy. In 1922 the Greek army was defeated by the Kemalists and a military revolution ensued that deposed King Constantine. The new government undertook many reforms, notably the distribution of big estates to peasants, but after a general strike, workers were violently suppressed. A little later, in December 1923, Benaroya, together with Couriel and Kordatos, who preferred social-democratic organizational models and opposed radical Bolshevisation considering the circumstances not suitable for a revolution, were expelled from the