The Hellenic Police confirmed it was investigating a separate attack on one of the tourists, but contradicted their claims of harassment by activists
July 24, 2025 16:00
A group of Israeli teens were allegedly attacked yesterday by knife-wielding pro-Palestine protesters, who chased them on motorbikes on the Greek island of Rhodes.
The incident reportedly occurred at around 3am when the teens were at the Hakuna Matata club, a popular nightlife spot among Israeli tourists. The protesters allegedly rallied outside the club and confronted the teens as they left.
One of the group, Shachar Gutman, told Ynet: "One of them came up to us and asked if we were Israeli.
“There was commotion and shouting, and we said we didn’t want to get involved and we should go back to the apartment we’d rented.”
According to Gutman, the protesters were carrying knives. The one who had pressed them on their Israeli nationality called to his fellow activists and they started to chase them.
Gutman claimed: “He called out to all his friends — some 30 to 40 people — and they started to chase us. We also started to run, and we didn’t think it was anything serious.
“At one point there was a curve in the road and we didn’t see them for a second — but then we heard motorcycles coming fast in our direction, and we realised there was nowhere to run.
“I jumped up over a wall that I saw and hid there, and another friend saw steps and hid there. Another one hid behind a bush and another one behind a van. They came and kicked the one who was behind the van, and he begged for his life, that they wouldn’t do anything to him. They photographed him and let him go.
“I’ve never been so afraid in my life. We just wanted to go to a club to have fun, and suddenly people with knives were chasing us. We were afraid it would end in a really bad way."
As they hid, Gutman texted his parents, saying: “They’re chasing us. I jumped over a wall, I’m hiding.”
His mother, Orit Gutman, told the Walla news agency that, upon receiving the message from her son, she felt completely “helpless”.
She said: “They were six friends on a five-day vacation. Last night, they went to the most Israeli club on the island. That’s where it happened. The moment we got his message that he was running away, we felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
“It took me straight back to the morning of October 7. For a moment, I froze. Suddenly, you find yourself asking, what’s the right thing to tell your child? Run? Be quiet? Fight? We were caught in a storm.”
According to Gutman, one of the teens was caught managed to avoid being hurt by speaking Dutch to pretend he wasn't Israeli.
However, the Hellenic police has contradicted the teen's claims, saying that the alleged incident did not, in fact, occur.
In a statement the force said that there was no evidence of knives or motorbikes used to harass Israeli and claimed that the teens weren't chased at all.
It did say that there was an altercation outside the club, but reported that it was entirely verbal and that it was started by the Israelis.
According to police, there were around 20 Israelis chanting pro-Israel slogans, which allegedly provoked a group of around 10 pro-Palestine protesters in the area, resulting in a confrontation.
The argument was stopped by employees of the club and the protesters left, said the force.
However, it did confirm it was investigating after one of the group was attacked by a single, unknown individual near their hotel.
The JC has contacted the Hellenic Police for comment.
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