Israeli Tourist Reportedly Refused Service in Athens Amid Rising Anti-Israel Hostility

An Israeli tourist, Anna Doshin, was reportedly refused service at the Vinoir Bistro in central Athens on July 13 after revealing her nationality. Doshin, a Haifa resident, told Ynet that an employee removed her ordered hookah and declined service immediately after she stated she was from Israel. She described feeling "humiliated and embarrassed" and "very shaken" by the incident, which occurred while she was staying in an apartment directly above the restaurant.

"What hurt me most was that the refusal came immediately after I said I was from Israel," she said. "I understood that they were refusing to serve me only because of my nationality."

This event is part of a broader increase in anti-Israel hostility and antisemitic incidents across Greece since October 7, 2023. Other incidents include the ransacking of an Israeli-owned kosher eatery in Athens and "anti-Zionist patrols" by the left-wing anarchist group Rouvikonas in Thessaloniki, which claimed to confront an "Israeli and Zionist infiltration" of the city. Jewish groups in Greece have condemned these trends, with the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece likening the Thessaloniki marchers to Nazi-era assault squads.