{"id":130269,"date":"2025-08-08T23:25:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T23:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/130269\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T23:25:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T23:25:11","slug":"tourists-brace-for-wave-of-greek-anti-israel-d","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/130269\/","title":{"rendered":"Tourists brace for wave of Greek anti-Israel d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite protests, concerns and troubling news reports, thousands of Israelis continue boarding flights and landing in the Greek isles \u2013 including Athens. Some smile with optimism; others consider posing as Hungarians or Portuguese, wary of drawing dangerous attention in tavernas. On the busiest day of the year at the airport, many Israelis face a new question: how do you navigate a place that doesn\u2019t exactly welcome you?<\/p>\n

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Mali Argaman <\/p>\n

(Photo: Assaf Kamar)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited and happy,\u201d says Mali Argaman, a yoga and personal development teacher, but quickly adds: \u201cI\u2019m also wondering what will happen if I\u2019m asked where I\u2019m from. You know, this isn\u2019t just flying to some exotic island. There\u2019s the situation, the protests, the awkwardness. Suddenly you feel like you have to think about a new identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if she\u2019s come up with a cover story, she laughs: \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll say I\u2019m from Malta. Good option. But I haven\u2019t really planned anything. If I came here with a mindset of planning fake identities for a trip, I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d have come. At this stage, I\u2019m not really working through scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n

In line, a young, stylish couple in love firmly refuse an interview: \u201cWe\u2019re going to Athens, then renting a car to tour the north, including Zagoria and the Pelion Peninsula. With all the tension in the air, we don\u2019t want to appear in a Ynet article with photos \u2013 just before landing in Greece.\u201d The man looks uncomfortable: \u201cWe have a European look and know how to blend in with tourists from all over the world. We\u2019re not too worried, but we don\u2019t want to become a target. So please, no pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother doesn\u2019t know I\u2019m going to Greece,\u201d says Rina Shmilovitz. \u201cMy kids sent me a TikTok clip about the protests, but I ignore it. They warn me there are protests, it\u2019s dangerous, not the time to travel to Greece. My family got a bit nervous, I didn\u2019t. I told them: they\u2019ll protest, I\u2019ll keep doing my thing. Only Israelis can have fun when everything is noisy around them. We\u2019re used to it \u2013 just keep living.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for an alternative identity, Rina has a plan: \u201cI\u2019ll go with \u2018Hungarian.\u2019 I have roots \u2013 it always works. But honestly, I don\u2019t speak a single word of Hungarian. My grandmother did, I understood a bit as a child, but nothing comes out of my mouth. Maybe I should prepare, in case someone asks me on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her message to Israelis debating a trip to Greece now: \u201cLet them protest. Don\u2019t provoke, don\u2019t engage, don\u2019t annoy. Just do our thing and carry on as if nothing\u2019s happening. We\u2019re Israelis, we keep going, no matter what\u2019s around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her partner, Ido Groner, adds: \u201cIf there are protests, let them protest. I\u2019m not really worried, I\u2019m relaxed. But yes, it\u2019s a little unsettling. You hear about protests, anti-Israel sentiment \u2013 it\u2019s unpleasant. But we\u2019re not here for politics, we\u2019re here for nature, food, rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ido Groner and Rina Shmilovitz <\/p>\n

(Photo: Assaf Kamar)<\/p>\n

In the crowded line for a Greek airline that recently resumed flights to Israel, a middle-aged couple warns not to photograph them: \u201cDon\u2019t even think about interviewing us. We\u2019re not looking for trouble or politics. We came for a week of peace and good music. You didn\u2019t take a picture, right? We don\u2019t want to walk into tavernas with everyone knowing we\u2019re from Israel. It would just add worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Israelis say that because of the protests and discomfort, they prefer to stay in small, less touristy places without large concentrations of Muslim immigrants, where the atmosphere is much nicer. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in Israel for two years straight, we need to breathe,\u201d say friends Ivy and Omer energetically. \u201cWe\u2019re going to Corfu, which isn\u2019t on the protest list. We checked Ynet on Wednesday \u2013 last time they tried something like this, 30\u201340 people showed up. Small protest. Not a big deal. We\u2019ve each been to Greece at least ten times. We feel at home there. Greeks like us. We just hope for quiet \u2013 no bad news while we\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile in Greece, even before the protest wave, travelers already encountered harsh, explicit anti-Israel posters and graffiti, some even in Hebrew. \u201cThe kids saw it and didn\u2019t want to leave the room,\u201d said Yifat Tzaig. Dr. Ariel Zilberlicht, traveling with his family: \u201cIt\u2019s a challenging time to be Israeli, but we didn\u2019t get drawn into political talks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Center for Monitoring and Combating Online Antisemitism issued alerts on Thursday about upcoming \u201cdays of rage\u201d and protests against Israel in Greece. According to the Diaspora Ministry, a pro-Palestinian group is organizing events to protest the arrival of the Israeli cruise ship Crown Iris in Volos, on the Pelion Peninsula. Planned actions include a protest at the Volos promenade Thursday evening, and another on the morning of August 13 when the ship arrives.<\/p>\n

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Posters awaiting Israelis in Greece <\/p>\n

(Photo: Yifat Tzaig)<\/p>\n

On August 10, a coordinated wave of anti-Israel protests is expected at more than 25 sites across Greece \u2013 especially on major tourist isles \u2013 as part of an international campaign called \u201cDay of Action for Gaza.\u201d Protests are planned in Rhodes, Kos, Crete, Samothraki, Andros, Lesbos, Tilos, Amorgos, Sifnos and others, as well as in mainland sites like Olympia, Kiato, Edessa and Preveza. Most are scheduled for afternoon and evening in prominent public spots such as ports, squares and archaeological sites.<\/p>\n