Athens Mayor Haris Doukas told Israel’s Ambassador to Greece Noam Katz that his city “will not accept lectures on democracy from those who kill civilians.”
Doukas’s comments, posted to X/Twitter on Sunday, came after concerns expressed by Katz over anti-Israel graffiti in the city.
“Athens, the capital of a democratic country, fully respects its visitors and supports its citizens’ right to free expression,” Doukas said.
“We have consistently demonstrated our active opposition to violence and racism. We will not accept lectures on democracy from those who kill civilians and children waiting in line for food aid, from those responsible for the daily deaths of dozens of people in Gaza due to bombings, hunger, and thirst."
Doukas said it was “appalling” that Katz focused solely on the graffiti “at a time when an unprecedented genocide is unfolding in Gaza.”
“I would also like to inform the ambassador that over the past year, the number of Israelis granted a Greek Golden Visa has increased by more than 90%,” referring to the residence by investment program that allows non-EU nationals to be on a path to obtain EU citizenship.
Doukas wrote the post in response to an article written by Katz in a Greek newspaper.
“Beyond the reported cases, Israelis are particularly uneasy and speaking out about graffiti and other symbols on the streets that express anti-Israeli attitudes,” Katz said.
“The embassy in Athens, as reported, is now monitoring this more than ever. The graffiti has been sprayed on residential buildings, many of which are home to Israelis. The epicenter of this feeling is the northern Athens area of Kipseli, where many Israelis live.”
He then criticized the mayor.
“The mayor of Athens did not do enough to protect his city and its minorities,” Katz said. “Doukas did nothing to make Israeli tourists feel comfortable. Graffiti on the streets that encourages the murder of Jews is a criminal act that must be punished.”
The Jerusalem Post reached out to Victor Eliezer, the general secretary of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, for comment. Eliezer shared his statement on social media, in which he condemned Doukas for not making “a single comment on Hamas’s inhumanity.”
“On the day Hamas released videos showing the torture of two out of the 50 Israeli hostages it has held for 668 days, Mr. Doukas, responding to the Israeli ambassador in Athens, claimed that he refuses to take ‘lessons on democracy from those who kill civilians and children standing in food lines, from those who daily drive dozens of people in Gaza to death by bombs, hunger, and thirst,’” he said.
He condemned the mayor for his “selectivity.” Eliezer provided multiple examples of the mayor’s stance towards the conflict, including telling a City Council meeting in March 2024, “I don’t like, and I don’t feel comfortable with, the Athens Municipality’s concert in cooperation with the Israeli embassy.”
Doukas went on to cancel the concert. Then, in May 2024, relatives of Israeli hostages visited Athens seeking a meeting with the mayor but were told he was “unavailable.”
“Apparently, the mayor of democratic Athens has adopted the tactics of Hamas and Hezbollah, which he has never once condemned. The anti-Israel marches by militant groups don’t bother him. Neither do the antisemitic posters and graffiti. And clearly, he is also not troubled by those who attack Israeli visitors or workers in the city,” said Eliezer.
“Mayor, your sensitivity is selective. And don’t tell us how much you care about the Holocaust, because clearly you’re indifferent to whether Jews are persecuted, raped, murdered, burned, or once again taken hostage and left to rot in Gaza’s underground tunnels.”
He then went further to criticize the Athens mayor, "The mayor of Athens did not do enough to protect his city and its minorities," Katz said. "Dukas did nothing to make Israeli tourists feel comfortable. Graffiti on the streets that encourages the murder of Jews is a criminal act that must be punished."