Protest against Israeli cruise ship sparks debate in Greece

“We owe an apology to these friends of Greece who chose to spend their holidays here and were forcibly denied it by some,” Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis wrote on the social media platform X. “Our country remains hospitable to all and antisemitism has no place here!”

His comments came in response to last Tuesday’s protests on the island of Syros, where hundreds of demonstrators assembled at the island’s port carrying Palestinian flags and a large banner that said, “Stop the genocide.” They were there to meet the MS Crown Iris, a ship owned by the Israeli cruise line, Mano Maritime.

The protest was organised by locals who wanted to show that it wasn’t acceptable to greet Israeli tourists while Palestinians in Gaza were starving, due to Israel’s blockade on aid entering the occupied territory.

Around 1,600 passengers were on the ship, which had set sail from Israel on Sunday. Some aboard reacted angrily to the portside protest, waving Israeli flags and even insulting the demonstrators, calling out “may your village burn,” a slogan popular with Israeli right-wing extremists.

The cruise line ultimately decided the passengers shouldn’t disembark at Syros and continued on its journey to Cyprus.

It’s not often this kind of thing happens in Greece, where there have been fewer pro-Palestinian demonstrations than in many other European countries.

Dockworkers’ unions speak out against military shipments

But every now and again, there has been some anti-Israel action in the seafaring EU nation.

On July 16, dockworkers and activists tried to prevent the unloading of steel meant for military purposes in Israel. The activists said the cargo was transferred from one ship, the Ever Golden, to another, the Cosco Shipping Pisces, in an attempt to keep the cargo “under the radar.” The dockworkers’ union said that they wouldn’t allow the port to become a base for any military actions.

There were similar protest actions in October 2024, and these are expected to continue.

A pro-Palestinian demonstration was held in Athens’ main harbor, Piraeus, earlier this month

Meanwhile, the episode on Syros has led to heated debate in Greece. Many locals say the protest was racist and some called the demonstrators “shameless fascists.” Others supported the demonstrators, saying the Israeli tourists should be informed of what their government doing in Gaza.

Those who are firmly on Israel’s side have accused the others of antisemitism. This is despite the fact that among those Greeks are some right-wing extremists who are actually traditionally antisemitic themselves. Now, however, they admire Israel’s military strength and see Israel as an ally, mostly against Turkey, but also against Muslims in general, whom they accuse of trying to change the European way of life.

The pro-Palestinian group is made up of a mix of people, from the left and right, who insist their criticism has nothing to do with antisemitism. In fact, they say that antisemitism is being worsened by Israeli genocidal actions in Gaza. Which has drawn criticism form world leaders, who have suggested Israel is destroying its relationship with its allies.

Political opinions flavour support

Opinion polls in Greece suggest that just under half of all locals are neutral about the conflict in Gaza. However, among the other half of the population, those who are not neutral, support for Israel has declined after almost two years of fighting in Gaza.

Israel has lost over 50% of support

In a survey by the Eteron Institute for Research and Social Change, conducted in late April, interviewees were asked who they most supported in the conflict. Just over 40% answered “neither side.” Of the rest, 30% favoured the Palestinian side and 17.6% favoured Israel. That’s a significant change from November 2023 — immediately after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7 — when 34% supported Israel.

Further detailed results show that almost 50% of those Greeks who support the conservative ruling party, New Democracy, are trying to stay loyal to Israel. Those who prefer the far-right party, Voice of Reason, also support Israel. Which is being supported by the Israeli lobby in Greece.

In May 2021, long before the events of October 2023, these protesters in Athens spoke out about Israel’s bombing of Gaza that year

Among those who support PASOK, a social democratic party, only 12% like Israel while 34% are pro-Palestinian. The rest of the PASOK supporters are agains the genocide.

Further left though, of the Greeks who support the local Communist party and other left-wing parties, between 74% and 84% are pro-Palestinian.

Israel, Greece enjoy long-lasting alliance

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a member of New Democracy, supports Israel without reservation and has called Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu “his friend.” Mitsotakis actually visited Netanyahu in Israel even after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the Israeli leader’s arrest for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In June 2025, when Israel was targeted by Iran, civilian Israeli airplanes were allowed to take shelter on Greek islands. Netanyahu’s own official plane was parked in Athens.

For a long time, Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis has been trying to maintain a more balanced stance, remaining in contact with Palestinian leadership and insisting on his support for a two-state solution.

Along with 28 other countries, including many European nations, Greece did sign the recent resolution calling on Israel to end the conflict in Gaza and fulfill its humanitarian obligations to the civilian population.

Still, left-wing opposition politicians maintain their government’s position is wrong and issued a joint statement at the end of May, calling on the Greek government to end military cooperation with Israel.

Close cooperation between Israel and Greece began long before Mitsotakis became prime minister. The alliance really became closer around 2008. This was solidified by a flurry of visits of heads of state in 2010 and ever since, there’s been strategic cooperation between the two nations.

Before that time, relations were cooler. Athens was typically pro-Arab and Greece was the only European country to vote against the United Nations resolution of 1947 that effectively led to the founding of the state of Israel. This was due to Athens’ ties with the Arab world.

Greece did de facto recognise Israel in 1949, but it wasn’t until May 1990 that then-Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis — the father of Greece’s current prime minister — officially recognised Israel and diplomatic relations were normalised. At the same time, Mitsotakis also promoted diplomatic relations with Palestinian leadership.

Today, the relationship between the two countries is close, especially in terms of economic, energy and military cooperation.

For Israelis, Greece remains an attractive vacation destination — if only because of its geographical proximity — and Greek food and music are very popular in Israel. Many Greek artists regularly perform in Israel. Most recently, popular singer Glykeria faced backlash after announcing she would perform there.