A group of Israeli teens reported being attacked in Rhodes, Greece, early Wednesday morning, according to Israeli media. However, this was later contradicted by the findings of the Hellenic police.
The teens said that a group of pro-Palestinian individuals from Turkey was waiting for them outside a nightclub and violently assaulted them, hit them, kicked them, and recorded one of the teens during the attack. Several of the teens were lightly wounded.
We immediately decided to leave, went out the back to an alley, and in hindsight, that was a mistake. Suddenly, we saw 20-25 people, looking Arab, start chasing us, one of the boys told N12.
One of the boys, Shahar Gutman, told Ynet that 30 to 40 individuals started chasing them on foot and motorcycle, and that they had knives, and started running at them. Thats when we knew we had to hide, he said.
At just past 4:30 a.m., Gutman texted his parents, Theyre chasing us. I jumped over a wall, Im hiding, adding that he did not know where his friends were.
He later told Ynet, We just wanted to enjoy a night out and suddenly people with knives were running at us.
Orit Gutman, Shachars mother, told Walla she had felt helpless.
They were six friends on a five-day vacation. Last night, they went to the most Israeli club on the island. Thats where it happened. The moment we got his message that he was running away, we felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness, she said.
It took me straight back to the morning of October 7. For a moment, I froze. Suddenly, you find yourself asking, whats the right thing to tell your child? Run? Be quiet? Fight? We were caught in a storm.
However, statements from law enforcement officers seem to contradict their story slightly. The Hellenic police confirmed in a statement that there was an altercation between a group of Israelis and a group of pro-Palestinians in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The police added that witness statements and video footage showed 20 young Israeli tourists in bars at around 4 a.m. shouting pro-Israel slogans, which the police added provoked the reaction of another group of around 10 pro-Palestine supporters who were calling the Israelis murderers. The bars employees then intervened and asked the second group to leave, and the altercation was said to have been verbal only.
When the Israeli group left the store to walk the 100 meters to the hotel, an unknown individual approached them and attacked one of the Israelis, and the group escaped. The details of the second incident are being investigated.
The police confirmed that no knives were used.
Nevertheless, the incident, coupled with the incident in Syros on Tuesday (when activists tried to prevent tourists arriving from Israel on a passenger ship from entering Greece), has raised concerns among Israelis currently visiting Greece or soon to visit the country.
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One Israeli Facebook user posted in a Rhodes travel group, Very worried about the antisemitism after the incident at the club... Im alone with two kids and I cant cancel. Another wrote, We booked a flight to Rhodes in August. There are a lot of reports about antisemitism and attacks on Israelis. We are a little worried.
One woman wrote, I was in the group where they posted that they were being chased terrifying. No one responded to them; the local police ignored it. Im also supposed to fly on Sunday. It will be okay, God willing.
Another said her daughter in Rhodes went on a night out with friends and was chased out by people shouting Free Palestine.
One recalled speaking Hebrew in a whisper out of fear.
However, others have dismissed this as fear-mongering and claim there is no antisemitism in Rhodes, which sees around 282,059 Israelis every year and relies heavily on tourism.
There is no such thing as antisemitism in Rhodes, wrote one. I came back yesterday and it was perfectly fine and we didnt feel any antisemitism on the contrary, we felt very much loved, wrote another.
The Jerusalem Post spoke to an Israeli travel agent on the island, who said that it is perfectly safe for Jews and Israelis and that the police are very responsive.
On Wednesday, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis spoke on Radio Parapolitikia, saying: Antisemitism and any form of fascism and racism will not be tolerated in Greece.
He referred to the incident that occurred at the port of Syros, saying that I consider what happened in Syros to be outrageous. There are no words to describe it. It is an incident which, I must say on behalf of the Greek government, is isolated, and the authorities must do everything in their power to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that Greek-Israeli relations remain strong, and that while his country will respect the right to protest, this must always fall within the bounds of the law.
Caution is needed regarding the very fine line between a protest and an act directed against any individual, regardless of their origin or religion. The former a protest is a democratic action. The latter is an act of absolute fascism. It is the other face of fascism: to target any person because of their origin, preference, religion, or anything else, he added.
The Post reached out to the Hellenic Police and the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece (KIS) for comment.
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The perps are really disproving Zionism with this one,
Not sure what Zionism has to do with this antisemitic hate crime. I surely hope it's not being implied that these types of events somehow justify xenophobic imperialism.