Greek anti-Israel activists waved Palestinian flags and raised signs opposing Israeli tourists in a coordinated mass protest at over 100 islands and cities, according to organizing groups BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) Greece, March to Gaza Greece, and Palestinian Community Greece.
Pictures published on social media by the anti-Israel groups showed beaches, ports, and cultural sites flooded with activists rallying against Greece’s relations with Israel and the presence of Israeli tourists in the country during the Israel-Hamas War.
The Nisyros Island chapter of March to Gaza dispensed notes to visitors claiming that a genocide against Palestinians was being perpetrated by the State of Israel and that inaction meant complicity in the alleged crime. Thousands protested at the dozens of tourist destinations to send “a loud and clear message to the Greek government and to all those who visit our country.”
“Our land, our sea, and our communities have no space for Zionists and supporters of genocide,” read the notes. “We will not offer recreational time and space for IDF murderers. If you support the genocide against the Palestinians, you are not welcome here! If you choose to turn a blind eye, we urge you to take a stand.”
The chapter also posted an Instagram story of a cardboard sign declaring “Zionists not welcome” and shared on social media a poster in English and Hebrew asserting that “All Israeli soldiers are war criminals” – supposedly all being occupiers, rapists, and murderers – and that the locals “don’t want you here.”
In front of the Meteora rock formation in northwestern Greece, according to a photograph shared by March to Gaza Greece, a flag of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization flew among several Palestinian national flags.
On Saturday night, anti-Israel activists interrupted a Zakynthos concert by singer Vasilis Papakonstantinou, draping a Palestinian flag across the stage.
The Foreign Ministry warned Israelis on Friday ahead of the “day of action,” advising Israeli tourists to stay away from demonstrations, not to display flags, clothing with Hebrew writing, or IDF symbols, and not to engage in public debates or express political opinions.
The Diaspora Ministry issued an assessment of the “Not in our land – Not in our name” event on Sunday, explaining that participants were encouraged to organize local events and create their own promotional materials. The ministry didn’t identify any explicit calls for violence, but the growth of radical activity and anti-Israel sentiment in the country raised the risk of an escalation into a confrontation.
The anti-Israeli tourist actions were preceded by a July 22 protest that sought to prevent Israeli cruise ship Crown Iris from docking at Syros. The vessel successfully docked at Rhodes and Agios Nikolaos with the protection of riot police.
Greek health minister fires back at dock riots
Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis slammed the dock riots as uncaring about the jobs and economic situation of fellow citizens.
“They have no humanity. They simply hate the West and are antisemites. If they cared about innocent victims in general, they would talk about the Druze, the Hamas hostages, the massacre of Christians in Sudan, the oppression of women in Afghanistan, etc.,” Georgiadis said on X/Twitter on July 28. “They only care about Gaza because that is how they slander the Western democracies, which they hate. They don’t even care about anything that concerns Greece, of course, which they also hate.”
In an August 3 social media post, Voice of Reason MEP Afroditi Latinopoulou challenged activists to go to Gaza if they wanted to raise a Palestinian flag, but said that they shouldn’t do so in Greece. N12 reported that a group of Israeli teenagers was attacked by a Turkish group in Rhodes on July 23, and on July 12 a new Athens kosher restaurant was vandalized by anti-Israel protesters.
Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.