Israelis take refuge in Athens as war rages

“It is not normal for a child to hear alarms and hide in a safe room for an entire day,” said the academic, who lost family members and students in the attack on October 7 which left 1,200 dead, most of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. .

In response, Israel pledged to eliminate Hamas and launched an air and ground campaign that, according to the Hamas government, killed nearly 15,000 people, also mostly civilians.

Michael and his family, including a newborn, had never been to Athens before.

But many European airlines had suspended their routes to Israel, and the only flight available was to the Greek capital.

Like most Israelis contacted by AFP in Athens, the forty-year-old wished to remain anonymous for fear of possible attacks.

The Central Council of Jewish Communities in Greece has expressed “concern” over anti-Semitic acts committed in the aftermath of the war, including damage to a Greek Jewish store and vandalism of a Holocaust memorial in Thessaloniki.

Some exiles also fear being accused by their fellow Israelis of having left the country during one of the worst crises in its history.

The exact number of Israelis arriving in Greece is difficult to estimate.

But the Israeli embassy in Athens asked the Greek government to extend the duration of tourist visas from 90 to 180 days to facilitate their stay.

Greece, which today has a small Jewish community of 5,000 people, is historically close to the Arab world and its population is largely committed to the Palestinian cause.

Most protests against the war between Israel and Hamas in Greece since October 7 have been pro-Palestinian.

In 1990, Greece was the last EU country to officially recognize the existence of Israel.

But since the 2010s, it has moved closer to Israel and attracts an increasing number of Israeli visitors.

With 722,549 tourists last year, Israelis rank among the top five nationalities visiting the country.

Most head to Thessaloniki, the northern Greek metropolis that was for centuries known as the “Jerusalem of the Balkans” before the Nazis wiped out its thriving Jewish community during World War II.

According to the Israeli community center Mazi, (“together” in Greek) launched in 2021, around a hundred families have requested help since October 7.

The association has set up an emergency telephone line to support new arrivals, in particular to help them find accommodation, which is lacking in the Greek capital.

The mood in the exile community is gloomy.

“Our lives are now on hold. We live day by day. We don’t know when we will return home, or what will happen,” said Tamar, a writer in her thirties who initially lived with friends.

Roy Danino, who coordinates a counseling program within the Israeli Community of Europe (ICE), says that some members of the community suffer from anxiety problems and panic attacks, and that there are case of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Tamar dreamed of opening a newspaper in Tel Aviv. But the heavy atmosphere of her city, deserted and cordoned off by the police, pushed her to come to Athens where she quickly proposed creating a daycare for Israeli children.

“I was immediately inundated with calls!” she says.

Talia, an art therapist who has lived in Athens with her two children for more than a month, is still haunted by images of the Hamas attacks.

“I feel alone in a foreign country and others cannot understand my sadness,” said the 47-year-old single mother.

“We are not on vacation here! My children saw 30 rockets flying over their heads. My uncle was assassinated on October 7,” she said.

But despite her sadness and her difficulties paying more than 1,500 euros ($1,640) per month for her Airbnb rental, Talia remains hopeful.

“When I return to my country, I want to take care of the women there and reach out to Palestinian women. No one wants (their) children to die. We must teach our children to love each other,” he said. -she declared.

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