A man waves a Palestinian flag as pro-Hamas demonstrators protest next to the Greek parliament, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Athens, Greece, May 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Haris Doukas, the mayor of the Greek capital city Athens, on Sunday responded to criticism from Israel’s chief diplomat to the country, Ambassador Noam Katz, with charges of genocide against the Jewish state.

In an interview with Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper, Katz said that antisemitic vandalism in Athens had generated concerns among Israeli tourists. He charged that Doukas, a member of the Socialist PASOK party, had failed to counter the “organized” groups responsible for the hateful graffiti. In one example, on July 12, six individuals entered an Israeli restaurant in Athens and sprayed black paint on walls and tables in addition to dropping pamphlets. They spray-painted graffiti with slogans such as “No Zionist is safe here” and posted a sign on one of the restaurant’s windows that read, “All IDF soldiers are war criminals — we don’t want you here,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

Doukas pushed back on the accusation, lashing out against Israel.

“We do not accept lessons in democracy from those who kill civilians,” he wrote in Greek on X. “Athens, the capital of a democratic country, fully respects its visitors and supports the right of free expression of its citizens.”

Doukas asserted that “as the city’s municipal authority, we have proven our active opposition to violence and racism and we do not accept lessons in democracy from those who kill civilians and children in food lines, from those who lead dozens of people to death every day in Gaza, from bombs, hunger and thirst.”

The mayor rejected Katz’s charge of tolerating antisemitic crimes.

“It is appalling that Mr. Ambassador focuses only on graffiti (which is apparently being erased), while an unprecedented genocide is taking place in Gaza,” Doukas wrote. “I should also inform Mr. Ambassador that in the last year the number of Israelis granted Greek Golden Visas has increased by over 90%.”

The mayor’s comments came days after the coach of Israel’s national soccer team, Ran Ben Shimon, was physically assaulted by a pro-Palestinian activist who also shouted “Free Palestine” at him in Athens last month before a match between Hapoel Be’er Sheva and their Greek rivals AEK Athens. During the match, anti-Israel soccer fans throughout the stadium loudly chanted “F–k you Israel. Viva [Free] Palestine,” as seen in multiple videos from the scene that were later shared on social media. AEK Athens fans also raised numerous Palestinian flags in the stadium.

Then last week, anti-Israel protesters clashed with Greek riot police on the island of Rhodes as they attempted to block an Israeli cruise ship — the MS Crown Iris, owned by Israeli cruise line Mano Maritime — from docking at the island’s main port. The incident came one week after protesters prevented hundreds of Israeli passengers from disembarking the same cruise ship near the island of Syros.

In June, an Israeli tourist was attacked by a group of pro-Palestinian activists after they overheard him using Google Maps in Hebrew while navigating through Athens. When the attackers realized the victim was speaking Hebrew, they began physically assaulting him while shouting antisemitic slurs.

Last year, a mob of pro-Hamas demonstrators attempted to break into a hotel where Israeli tourists were staying in Athens, leading Greek police to deploy gas grenades to disperse the crowd and restore order.

“We reiterate that criticism of the government of Israel, no matter how severe, does not constitute antisemitic behavior,” the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece said in a statement on June 19. “However, the sweeping, ahistorical, and categorical characterizations of Israeli citizens as murderers, Nazis, and unwelcome in Greece is a vulgar and unacceptable hate-filled rhetoric that threatens the well-being of Greek Jewish citizens and endangers the safety of foreign citizens of Jewish faith who, for any reason, reside in or visit our country.”

The Jewish communal group called upon “the State, regional, and municipal authorities to condemn these phenomena and take all necessary measures to protect the lives of Greek citizens of Jewish faith as well as the Jewish visitors. It is imperative that a clear message of zero tolerance be sent against the rising tide of Judeophobia in our country, which unquestionably leads to antisemitism. History teaches us that antisemitism may begin by targeting the Jews, but it never ends with the Jews. It undermines the values of freedom and culture of the entire society.”

Greece features both one of the lowest Jewish populations in Europe —5,000, mostly based in Athens —and one of the continent’s highest levels of antisemitism.

According to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) update released in January to its annual Global 100 survey of antisemitism levels by country, 50 percent of adults — 4.3 million people — embrace at least six antisemitic stereotypes, what the longtime watchdog group defines as possessing “antisemitic attitudes.” This ranks Greece at 74 out of 103 countries in levels of antisemitism, with lower numbers indicating lower levels of hate against Jews. The ADL’s data shows elevated levels of antisemitism among those 35-49 (56 percent) and over 50 (55 percent) while individuals 18-34 reached 34 percent.

In comparison, Greece’s northeast neighbor Bulgaria reached a 45-percent rate with 2.6 million of its citizens embracing antisemitic attitudes, while nearby Italy (a roughly two-hour flight from Athens to Rome) reached a 26-percent level, or 13.1 million people. The Institute for Jewish Policy Research reports a “core” Jewish population in Italy of 26,800 and a “Law of Return” Jewish population of 48,910. This indicates that while Italy includes a higher Jewish population, its per capita rate of Jews to the broader population (approximately 59 million people) is lower.

Youths take part in the occupation of a street in front of the building of the Sciences Po University in support of Palestinians in Gaza, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Paris, France, April 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

The Palestinian student who was recently expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille over antisemitic social media posts has left France shortly after being placed under investigation for praising Adolf Hitler and inciting violence against Jews online.

On Sunday, French authorities confirmed that 25-year-old Nour Atallah, a Palestinian student from Gaza, has departed France for Qatar to continue her education.

“The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, stressed the unacceptable nature of the comments made by Ms. Nour Atallah, a Gazan student, before she entered French territory,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

“Given the seriousness of the situation, Ms. Atallah was unable to remain in France. She left France today to go to Qatar to continue her studies,” the statement read.

Atallah’s lawyer explained that she “made the decision … to continue her studies in another country as a gesture of conciliation and to ensure her safety,” while firmly denying all accusations against her.

“The reported incidents are mainly based on retweeted posts, detached from any context,” he said, according to French media.

Atallah arrived in northern France in early July to begin her master’s in law and communications at the Institute of Political Science in Lille after being awarded a scholarship to support her studies.

Last week, the university announced it had revoked Atallah’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.

In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

She is now facing a criminal investigation, as the public prosecutor in Lille confirmed the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”

The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.

On Friday, Barrot announced the suspension of all further evacuations from Gaza to France pending a comprehensive review of the backgrounds of those already evacuated, including the student under investigation.

Atallah is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.

Like many countries around the world, France has seen an alarming rise in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The local Jewish community in France has consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.

The total number of antisemitic outrages in 2024 — 1,570 — was a slight dip from 2023’s record total of 1,676, but it marked a striking increase from the 436 antisemitic acts recorded in 2022, according to a report by the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), the main representative body of French Jews,

In late May and early June of last year, antisemitic acts rose by more than 140 percent, far surpassing the weekly average of slightly more than 30 incidents.

The report also found that 65.2 percent of antisemitic acts last year targeted individuals, with more than 10 percent of these offenses involving physical violence.

Recently, three synagogues and a Jewish restaurant in Paris were vandalized with green paint, and the city’s Holocaust memorial was defaced twice. In Lyon, swastikas and hateful slogans were found on the walls of a primary school, which was also set on fire.

A resident enters a FEMA’s improvised station to attend claims by local residents affected by floods following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Marion, North Carolina, US, Oct. 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

US states and cities that boycott Israeli companies will be denied federal aid for natural disaster preparedness, the Trump administration has announced, tying routine federal funding to its political stance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency stated in grant notices posted on Friday that states must follow its “terms and conditions.” Those conditions require they certify they will not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies” to qualify for funding.

The requirement applies to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries, and backup power systems among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters.

The requirement is the Trump administration’s latest effort to use federal funding to promote its views on Israel.

The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees FEMA, in April said that boycotting Israel is prohibited for states and cities receiving its grant funds.

FEMA separately said in July that US states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government arrest migrants, an administration priority.

The Israel requirement takes aim at BDS, the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement designed to isolate the world’s lone Jewish state on the international stage as a step toward its eventual elimination.

“DHS will enforce all antidiscrimination laws and policies, including as it relates to the BDS movement, which is expressly grounded in antisemitism,” a spokesperson for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement.

The requirement is largely symbolic. At least 34 states already have anti-BDS laws or policies, according to a University of Pennsylvania law journal. The BDS movement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The American Jewish Committee supports the Trump administration’s policy, said Holly Huffnagle, the group’s director of antisemitism policy. The AJC is an advocacy group that supports Israel.

Under one of the grant notices posted on Friday, FEMA will require major cities to agree to the Israel policy to receive a cut of $553.5 million set aside to prevent terrorism in dense areas.

New York is due to receive $92.2 million from the program, the most of all the recipients. Allocations are based on the agency’s analysis of “relative risk of terrorism,” according to the notice.