Hi Everyone,

I’m very excited to visit Athens and Tripoli later this year. I can’t wait to experience the art, the food and the culture. Been wanting to go there for a long time.

I have a question regarding Racism and anti-Semitism toward Jewish looking people in Greece. I am “half Jew” since my mother is half Turkish Jewish and half Iraqi Jewish, my father is French-Canadian. I also strongly my mother; I myself have big nose, dark curly hair and olive skin (very stereotypical Jewish look). I am traveling with my half Italian half Scottish girlfriend who looks more like people from France or Switzerland, and I’m wondering what to expect in terms of discrimination toward me.

Hopefully, Greece is a very welcoming and accepting place.

Can you please share your opinions, suggestions and ideas?

Thank you.

Edit: Just add [my pic](https://imgur.com/B7SmYdD) for reference. 🙂

20 comments

  1. No one is going to care about how you look. Maybe a 90 year old grandpa will get weirded out because he is stupid but otherwise I highly doubt you will face any problems.

  2. Not really, compared to most European countries, even the UK, Germany, outbursts of racism are quite rare. This is according to Eurostat and multiple other sources. Enjoy your time here

  3. I don’t mean to sound rude but that look is not that rare here and pretty much no-one cares? Also in many smaller cities in Greece there were big Jewish communities in the past

  4. Greece isn’t really antisemitic. No one’s gonna bother you. We had a huge Jewish population up to WWII, and no one talks about their extermination like it was a good thing.

  5. Questions like this seem really strange to me. I do kind of understand this coming from people of color, but Jewish people?

    Do you have such concerns when visiting other European countries?

  6. No worries about it, no body is going to bother. Can also go around wearing your yamaka if you want, nobody will bat an eye.

    If you are interested in Jewish culture and history in Greece, you can pay a visit to the Jewish museum of Athens, which is very centrally located (in Plaka). Their website is also quite helpfull if you want to find Kosher places or other points of interest for the Greek-Jewish history.

    Enjoy your vacation, and dont miss on the traditional food, particularly in Tripoly

  7. >big nose, curly hair, olive skin

    And you think you’ll stick out? Where do you think you’re going? You probably look more Greek than me kek

  8. No one will care about your looks… In general people dont care about what everyone looks like.

    Most of the racist driven violent incidents are from far-right supporters but even them target immigrants and not tourists. Older people may look at you weirdly, mostly out of curiosity, especially in smaller villages around cities like Tripoli.

  9. Fuck’s sake dude you look like half the Greeks out there, only a bit lighter and without a beard.

  12. Bro the vast majority of Greeks are not racist. We are also used to tourists since we rely a lot on them. It is really unlikely to have any problems of this kind. Have a nice stay.

  13. At the risk of “outing” myself to my fellow redditors (lol) I am a Greek Jew, and I can tell you that on the whole Greece is a very welcoming place, especially to foreigners and tourists. I can almost guarantee that you will have absolutely no issues here. The classic “jewish” look does not stand out here as Greeks tend to have similar ‘mediterranean’ features. I’m sure you will have a great time 🙂

    (That is not to say, like some people in the comments on this subreddit like to think, that racism or anti-semitism do not exist in Greece. I’ve had my fair share of odd comments from people throughout the years of growing up/living here. WW2 memorials are vandalized every year. It’s not good to stick our heads in the sand.)

    Truth is that discrimination exists in every country, including here, but I very much doubt you will encounter any!

  16. All rules of travel apply: Be polite, don’t talk about politics.

    It’s highly unlikely anyone would care, let alone engage in racist behaviour.

  17. Shalom. Trust me nothing will happen to you. Most antisemites here are just boomers or 15 year old wannabe keyboard warriors who think “ze joows run ze world” or think it’s funny to joke about the holocaust, but they don’t have the nuts to do anything.

    I hope you enjoy your visit😉

  19. 1. Nobody will care
    2. People will probably think you’re Greek. You definitely don’t look much different than Greeks

    By the way: In 2019, over 600,000 Israelis traveled to Greece. The Greek-Israeli relation is at an all time high.

  20. >toward Jewish looking people

    What is that even.

    Edit: I saw your pic, maybe a few people will confuse you for Warda and ask for your shirt.

Leave a Reply