Israeli envoy and Athens mayor spar over antisemitic graffiti in Greek capital

Haris Doukas, the mayor of Athens, clashed verbally with Israeli Ambassador to Greece Noam Katz on Sunday, after the envoy criticized the mayor for "not cleaning up the city," saying the neglect was making Israeli tourists feel uncomfortable – particularly due to the rise in anti-Israel and even antisemitic graffiti in the Greek capital.

Doukas, who is a member of the Greek Socialist Party, responded by accusing Israel of deliberately killing civilians in Gaza. 

"As the city's municipal authority, we have demonstrated our strong opposition to violence and racism, and we do not take lessons in democracy from those who kill civilians," Doukas wrote in a post on the social media platform 𝕏. 

"Athens, the capital of a democratic country, fully respects its visitors and supports its citizens' right to free expression," the mayor continued. He continued by repeating the widespread international charge that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. 

"It is revolting that the ambassador focuses solely on graffiti (which is obviously being erased) while an unprecedented genocide is taking place in Gaza," Doukas claimed without presenting any credible evidence.

The strong reaction from the Greek mayor followed comments by the Israeli ambassador in the local newspaper Kathimerini, where he claimed that the mayor was "not doing enough to protect his city from organized minorities."

Despite historically embracing pro-Arab policies, the current Greek government has developed close commercial and defense ties with Israel. However, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments have increased in Greece following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre in 2023. Multiple anti-Israel rallies have been held across Greece during the past 22 months of war. A whopping 50% of the Greek population embraces antisemitic attitudes, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an organization that monitors and combats antisemitism and bigotry worldwide.

Nevertheless, Greece remains a popular destination for Israeli tourists. Last month, anti-Israel activists threatened Israeli cruise passengers on the Greek island of Syros. Citing security concerns, the ship’s crew prevented the Israeli tourists from disembarking. At the time, Greek authorities vowed to "work to distance protests from Israeli tourists in order not to harm their experience."

“There were about 200 protesters at the port entrance with Palestinian flags. They didn’t let us off the ship and even turned back those who had managed to get off. I understand this is the first time the ship docked here, and the protesters knew we were coming and waited for us. Yesterday we docked in Rhodes without any issue at all,” the Israeli tourist Daniella recalled. 

A few days later, a Syrian migrant verbally and physically attacked an Israeli tourist at a beach in Athens. 

“Out of nowhere, a Muslim man approached, started filming us and shouting ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘F*** Israel,’” the Israeli tourist Stav Ben Shoshan explained. He recalled that he confronted the Syrian who had stated, “‘I’m Hamas,’ and picked up sand and rocks and threw them at the man and his wife.”

The situation escalated when the Israeli feared that two Muslim men were about to harm his wife. 

“My instincts kicked in. I thought they were trying to hurt her,” Shoshan said. 

“I ran over, grabbed one and pushed the other with my hands,” he recalled. “As I was holding one of them to prevent him from hurting her, he bit my ear.”