They don’t want us: dozens of pro-Palestinian activists marched against the Israelis

A procession of dozens of pro-Palestinian activists in the streets of Thessaloniki, Greece, ignited a public uproar in the country in recent days and even led to the opening of a police investigation. The participants marched through the heart of the city wearing black shirts with the Palestinian flag on them, as part of an event that the organizers defined as an “anti-Zionist tour”.

According to reports in the local media, the Greek police are investigating whether crimes of incitement to hatred or violence were committed during the march, as well as whether there is a reason to continue the investigation against the organizers of the event who belong to the anarchist activist group “Rubicon”. The organizers stated that the purpose of the event was “to protest against the Israeli presence in Thessaloniki and turning the city into a tourist destination for Israelis”.

The event led to strong reactions from the Jewish community in Greece. In the meantime, the Central Council of Jewish Communities in the country (KIS) published a statement of condemnation in which it compared the march that took place last week to anti-Semitic events that took place in the city in the past. “Exactly 95 years after assault squads roamed the streets of Thessaloniki and attacked Jews, organized groups dressed in black appeared again and instilled fear in Jews and Israelis.”

The World Jewish Congress also commented on the event and stated that the procession was intended to frighten Jews. Currently, the authorities in Greece continue to investigate the incident and charges have not yet been filed. The police are examining the circumstances of the march and the content heard during it to determine if offenses were committed according to Greek law.

This is not the first time that Israelis and Jews have been targeted in Greece in recent times. in the past, Greece’s Minister of Civil Defense, Michaelis Chrysochoidis, sent an unusual and alarming warning following the revelation of a Hamas terrorist cell targeting Israelis: “We are a tourist destination, we receive thousands of Israeli citizens, you can understand how dangerous and threatening all this is.” The minister’s words came after a large-scale international intelligence operation exposed a sophisticated network that operated within the European Union, and led to the publication of urgent security warnings for thousands of Israeli tourists planning their summer vacation in the Mediterranean basin.