Letters By Pablo Nankin, MD: Greece Should Not Take Jewish and Israeli Tourism for Granted

Pablo Nankin, MD | Aug 13, 2026

Thessaloniki.  Photo by Andrzej Wójtowicz – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

I recently visited Greece, and I left with the impression that Greece was a modern, civilized European country where visitors of all backgrounds could feel welcome. Recent events have seriously challenged that impression.

Greece has a long and complicated history with its Jewish population. Nowhere is that history more painful than in Thessaloniki, where a once-thriving Jewish community was nearly erased during the Holocaust. Approximately 46,000 Jews from Thessaloniki were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the overwhelming majority were murdered.

That history should make Greece especially sensitive to antisemitism and to the treatment of Jews and Israelis today.

When Jewish or Israeli visitors are singled out, harassed, threatened, or made to feel unwelcome, targeting people because they are Jewish or Israeli is antisemitism.

Tourists have choices. Jewish travelers have choices. Israeli travelers have choices. They can decide where to spend their money, where to vacation, and where to take their families.

If Greece wants to benefit from Jewish and Israeli tourism, it must also make clear that Jewish and Israeli visitors are welcome and will be treated with dignity and respect.

There are other countries that welcome tourists and would be happy to receive the business that Greece takes for granted. Travelers can choose destinations such as Albania, Montenegro  or Serbia instead of Athens, Mykonos, or other Greek destinations.

It is about making clear that antisemitism has consequences.

And Jewish and Israeli tourists should not be expected to spend their money in places where they feel unwelcome or unsafe.

If Greece does not want Jewish and Israeli tourists, then it should not expect their tourism dollars.

We have choices.

Pablo Nankin, MD