“Welcome to the shekel” faces “Not in our name” and solidarity with Palestine. The “immortal Greek summer” is expected to be heated.
By Leonidas Vlassis
June 14, 2025
On Wednesday, April 30, three Israeli female tourists arrived in Athens for their vacation, staying at a short-term rental apartment in the hyper-touristified neighborhood of Koukaki. According to a complaint posted online by the nearby café “To Pagkaki,” the three women did not hesitate to openly express support for the genocide and starvation of the Palestinian people, unleashing “a torrent of Zionist propaganda and cover-up for the fascist Israeli state.”
One of them furiously tore down a pro-Palestinian poster at the entrance of the apartment building. A member of the “To Pagkaki” workers’ collective who witnessed this immediately intervened, demanding an explanation before informing those present and fellow staff on shift about the provocative incident.
As stated in “To Pagkaki’s” post:
[…] Reflexively, people approached them and, calmly but firmly, made it absolutely clear that in our neighborhoods and workplaces, there is no room for support of murderous states and their practices.
The tourists’ reaction shocked and enraged us, as with excessive arrogance and sharpness, they continued defending the war machine that has killed tens of thousands, even filming those who reacted and threatening lawsuits. What was chilling was that even the female teenager with them did the same, with the cold gaze of a soldier. We feel compelled to quote verbatim what was said to one of our colleagues: “You don’t even have Greek citizenship; I have a golden visa.” We don’t find it offensive if someone lacks Greek citizenship. But we believe this statement, dripping with racism and colonial mentality, perfectly encapsulates the class displacement caused by neighborhood gentrification—especially when uttered by a supporter of an apartheid state.
In the end, with absolute composure—despite the violence of what we heard and saw—we managed to disrupt the carefree arrival of the Israeli tourists, making it clear they were unwelcome, not just in our café but in our neighborhood. Of course, their fanaticism and unyielding stance continued in the following days, though not as “boldly”… The next day, we found torn pro-Palestinian stickers deliberately thrown in front of our door. They also launched a coordinated smear campaign against the collective, posting fake reviews and negative comments about the café […]
The only poison that day was what spilled from the well-trained Zionist foot soldiers.
No such behavior should go unanswered. We stand in solidarity with any worker facing such conduct and with those who leave no room for the darkness brought by genocide supporters.
In closing, we see the collective response that night as the bare minimum duty of those who refuse to stay silent in the face of the crimes committed in Palestine—and as the smallest gesture of solidarity.
FREEDOM FOR PALESTINE!
FREE PALESTINE!
On Saturday, May 24, a solidarity action for Palestine took place in Athens outside a Carrefour branch in Monastiraki, called by BDS Greece. Dozens of solidarity activists participated in this mobilization as part of the Global Week of Action for the boycott of this French multinational, “due to its complicity in the Israeli regime of genocide, apartheid, and occupation!” A similar action took place on May 28 outside its branch in Kardamena, Kos.
As the organizers stated after the gathering in central Athens:
[…] The action was embraced by workers, shop owners in Varvakeios, and passersby, Greeks and foreigners alike.
The only dissonance: individuals identifying as Israelis hurled unprovoked insults, threats, and obscene gestures. Despite the provocations, the crowd isolated them, and they were belatedly removed by police […]
On Monday, June 1, lawyer Annie Paparousou publicized an incident that occurred on an Attica beach via an online post.
Illegal racially motivated violence:
A criminal prosecution was filed against four young people who dared to chant “Free Palestine” at Israeli tourists, who responded with “I have a lot of money.”
The Israelis then called the police, who arrested not only the initial individual involved but also his friends who rushed to the station to support him. They were all detained and brought before the Athens Single-Member Misdemeanor Court the next day, which postponed the trial to June 10, releasing them.
Even the court was stunned by the charges, which were perfectly aligned with Zionist propaganda.
Let’s remember that racist motives were not recognized in the trial for Zak Kostopoulos’ lynching and are generally overlooked in blatant hate crimes.
Today, however, the police and judicial mechanisms are eager to align with the Trumpist narrative and far-right European governments that adopt the “antisemitism” label when the demand is justice and life for Palestine.
On Wednesday, June 3, the Craft Beer-Kafeneion in Heraklion, Crete, posted about the following incident:
“Today, a group of Israeli tourists came in. They demanded our Yiota change her shirt, or they wouldn’t leave a tip. She politely refused. They ate and left without tipping. We’re lucky to have Yiota with us!!! A wonderful girl!!! Ideologies don’t change with money!!”
Crete is a favored destination for Israeli tour operators. Solidarity actions for Palestine have taken place across the island, including mass protests in Heraklion and Agios Nikolaos against Israeli cruise ships—during which Zionist tourist provocations against demonstrators were not uncommon.
The above are just a few indicative incidents involving Israeli tourists, many of whom come to our country to “relax and heal their post-traumatic stress” after their criminal military service in martyred but unbroken Gaza, which is being slaughtered and starved by the genocidal policies of the “only democracy in the Middle East.”
Almost daily, new incidents involving Israeli “tourists” and “investors” (with or without golden visas…) are publicized in posts and announcements, while solidarity movements intensify, sending a clear message of opposition to “development tourism” drenched in Palestinian blood.
Notable are the nightly solidarity marches in high-traffic tourist areas with strong Israeli presence (Plaka, Psyrri, Monastiraki, Pangrati, etc.), where it is made unequivocally clear: Zionist war criminals are not welcome in Greece.
The “immortal Greek summer” has arrived—and it’s expected to be heated. The cynical dogma “welcome to the shekel,” which clearly governs much of the “heavy tourism industry” and the country’s municipal-regional elites, along with the corresponding government policy of a state that has long aspired to become… “the Israel of the Balkans,” is now clashing head-on with the “Not in our name» resistance. This resistance is growing louder and more widespread, as local communities, workers, and people (thankfully…) who have not been dehumanized choose to stand on the right side of history against Greece’s complicity in the genocide and suffering of the Palestinian people.
Source: kosmodromio.gr
Translated by Christian Haccuria
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