An “anti-Zionist patrol” featuring a gang of men wearing black T-shirts bearing the Palestine flag marched through the Greek city of Thessaloniki last Saturday.
One of the far-left anarchist groups involved in organising the march, Rouvikonas, said it had been targeting “Israeli capital” that it claimed had “parasitically infiltrated” the city.
Antisemitic rioters launched a pogrom against the Jewish community of Thessaloniki 95 years ago, from 29-30 June 1931. The attacks left two dead and resulted in the emigration of around 30,000 Jews to France and then Mandate Palestine.
Noting the irony, the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece said: “In both cases – then and today – hatred against Jews prevails.
“And today a new climate of Jew-hatred is taking shape that threatens not only Greek Jews but also the well-being of all citizens. Because history teaches that antisemitism begins its course targeting Jews but never stops with Jews.
“We observe with sadness the tolerance shown by state authorities and social institutions towards this new wave of fanaticism that is manifested against Jewish citizens of the State of Israel,” it added.
“These ‘assault battalions’ and their followers seek to undermine the strategically important relations between Greece and Israel in a period of instability in the eastern Mediterranean that threatens the security of both countries.”
Rouvikonas wrote on Instagram alongside a shot of the black-shirted men: “An anti‑Zionist patrol took place on Saturday, June 27, heading toward Mavili Square, where Israeli capital has parasitically infiltrated, together with comrades from the Continuous Struggle for Class Liberation and the Libertarian Initiative of Thessaloniki.
“In recent years, we have been witnessing a peculiar form of colonisation of many major cities by capital – domestic and, above all, imported…. Under the pretext of investment and economic development, Israeli (and not only Israeli) funds are buying up beaches, neighbourhoods, and villages en masse, turning the residents of these areas into migrants in their own homeland.”
According to Victor Eliezer, Secretary General of the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, a Thessaloniki’s authorities are investigating.
He said: “They move around in groups, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and slogans against Israel and the ‘Zionists’. In doing so, they create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation directed at any Jew who visits or lives in the city.
“For approximately the past year, they have been organising anti-Israel demonstrations in central locations in Athens, Thessaloniki, and other Greek cities. At the same time, they organise protest actions at ports where cruise ships carrying Israeli tourists arrive.”
It is understood that most of the demonstrations of this type across involve relatively small groups of between 100 and 500 participants.
Eliezer said that, to date, Greek police had successfully prevented incidents that could have escalated into violent confrontations resulting in casualties.
He said: “Unfortunately, the demonisation of Israel that has intensified since October 7, 2023, originates with left-wing political parties and has spread to numerous municipalities, which periodically adopt resolutions expressing solidarity with the Palestinians, condemn Israel for alleged genocide, and, notably, never refer to the massacre of October 7.
“They invoke United Nations resolutions, invite Francesca Albanese, publicise the arrest warrants issued against the Israeli Prime Minister, and contribute to an atmosphere that undermines the legitimacy of Israel's right to exist by adopting slogans such as ‘Free Palestine from the river to the sea’."
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