Huge demonstrations in Europe against Kushner – and anti-Semitic rumors

In recent days, thousands of people took to the streets of Tirana, the capital of Albania, in protest against a luxury tourism and vacation project promoted by the investment company of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of the President of the United States, Donald Trump. The protest, which has been going on for several days in a row, has become one of the largest civil protest movements seen in the country in recent years. At the height of the protests, rumors also spread that Israel was secretly involved in the deal, which added to the anger among many.

At the center of the resistance is a plan to build a huge tourist complex on the island of Sazan and in the coastal area of ​​Zabrantz, near the city of Velora. According to the plans presented, the project may include up to 10,000 holiday units and cover large areas in an area considered to have high environmental sensitivity.

One of the prominent symbols of the protest is the flamingo. The demonstrators were accompanied by inflatable flamingo dolls, large cardboard signs in the shape of the pink bird and signs bearing messages such as “Albania is not for sale” and “Where will they live now?”. On social networks, the protest was even nicknamed the “Flamingo Revolution”.

This is because the area targeted for development includes an ecosystem that is home to flamingos, more than 200 migratory bird species, Mediterranean monk seals and nesting sea turtles. Environmental organizations have been warning for a long time that the project could damage the biodiversity and the bird migration routes in the area.

The tension surrounding the project became particularly acute after a barbed wire fence was erected around part of the area designated for development in May. According to reports, work in the field also included clearing sand dunes, cutting down pine forests and building new access roads. The events led to clashes between protesters and private security guards, arrests and criminal investigations.

The protest does not focus only on the environmental aspects. Many protesters claim that the decision-making was done without sufficient transparency and without public participation. “We are in danger of handing over our land to people who have no interest in helping the Albanians but only in making a profit for themselves,” said one of the protesters who works in the tourism industry.

Environmental organizations and protest leaders claim that there were no adequate public consultation procedures and that no relevant documents relating to permits and planning were published. According to them, public outrage grew after local residents and landowners in the area found themselves restricted in access to areas where they work or hold rights.

Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, strongly defends the project. According to him, an environmental assessment is still being carried out and that the challenge is to prove that economic development and preservation of nature can coexist. However, he also clarified several times that for him there is no intention to stop the investment.

At the same time, the special prosecution body for the fight against corruption in Albania announced that it had opened an investigation concerning the ownership of the lands and their legal status, and even seized assets of parties related to the project. In addition, legislative changes adopted in 2024 regarding protected areas are examined, changes which according to the critics paved the way for the promotion of tourism projects in territories that previously enjoyed environmental protection.

Against the background of the expansion of the protest, rumors and conspiracy theories were also spread on social media claiming that the land had been sold to Israel and that behind the project there was a hidden political agenda, partly against the background of recent publications about the possibility of moving part of the Palestinian population of Gaza to Albania, a report that Prime Minister Edi Rama denied. Some publications even linked the claims to Jared Kushner’s Jewish background.

However, in the demonstrations themselves, there was almost no open support for these claims among the demonstrators. Experts following the protest told Politico that anti-Semitism is not a central feature of the movement and that the vast majority of criticism is directed at the project itself and the decision-making process surrounding it, not at Kushner’s religious or ethnic identity, and not at Israel.

Some of the protesters also emphasized that for them this is first and foremost an environmental and civil struggle. According to them, the opposition stems from the fear of damage to nature and the feeling that the residents of the area are not part of the decisions and are not expected to benefit from the fruits of the project.

The protest is expected to continue in the coming days. More demonstrations are planned in southern Albania, and at the same time communities of Albanian origin around the world have announced a series of protest events in various cities in Europe and North America.