Hundreds of protesters gathered at the port of Piraeus on Thursday morning to protest the arrival of Israeli-flagged cruise ship. Riot police had cordoned off the area to protect the ship passengers during disembarkation.
Διαδήλωση σήμερα στον Πειραιά ενάντια στην έλευση του Ισραηλινού κρουαζιερόπλοιου Crown Iris! #antireport #FreePalestine #palestine #gaza #Παλαιστινη #Πειραιας #Ισραηλ pic.twitter.com/TsHz4p1q9b
— Μένουμε Ενεργοί – Ενημέρωση, Αγώνας, Αλληλεγγύη (@menoume_energoi) August 14, 2025
The protest in Piraeus was a part of a broader campaign by Greek unions and advocacy groups to oppose visits by Israeli cruise ships amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Similar protests were held yesterday, Wednesday in Volos<, central Greece and three Greek islands in July.
#Πειραιάς – Crown Iris / Βίντεο του https://t.co/yDmvPjAIq0 από τη μεγάλη κινητοποίησηhttps://t.co/lkws8B3Nak pic.twitter.com/WTigAdaFrL
— Η ΑΥΓΗ (@AvgiOnline) August 14, 2025
The ship is reported to carry carrying Israeli tourists, including soldiers allegedly involved in military operations in Gaza.
Protest organizers, citing online posts from travelers, said off-duty Israeli soldiers were among the passengers, AP reported. “They are unwanted here and have no business being here,” protest organizer Markos Bekris told AP. “The blood of innocent people is on their hands, and we should not welcome them.”
The protest was organized by the PAME trade union of KKE alongside maritime and workers’ unions, aimed to block passengers from disembarking.
Protesters chanted slogans against the war in Gaza, waved Palestinian flags, and carried banners reading “Freedom for Palestine.” They accused Israel of committing genocide and urged Greece not to serve as a leisure destination for what they called “war criminals.”
Union representatives also staged a symbolic protest inside the port, displaying banners and spray-painting “Freedom for Palestine” in red outside the E12 gate.
Protest outside the port of Piraeus, #Greece 🇬🇷 over the arrival of Israeli cruise ship “Crown Iris” pic.twitter.com/OTVlfLGrkS
— Savvas Karmaniolas (@savvaskarma) August 14, 2025
At some point, some protesters walked to the Piraeus Port Authority building where they threw plastic cups with tsatziki, the Greek delicacy consisting of yogurt, garlic and cucumber.
Πορεία στον Πειραιά για μπλόκο στο ισραηλινό «Crown Iris» – Γιαούρτια στο Λιμεναρχείο
👉🔗https://t.co/klIAqr5uSj#ingr #insnapshot #πορεια #πειραιας pic.twitter.com/SDnRuayxZB
— in.gr/news (@in_gr) August 14, 2025
Protesters called for another demonstration on August 24, 2025.
Do you see this on the international media? it is being censored. A report on the greek Embassy website was immediately removed because it “did not reflect the official Greek position”. Politicians worldwide are out of touch with the people now and if they take no action they are as guilty as the IDF for the slaughter in Palestine
For a country where locals and 80% of people live out of renting to tourists, you have become very aggressive to your own source of food. As a tourist visiting in different years, I saw same problems unsolved and new ones, although prices for rental have tripled and even more. Where are those money? You don’t see anything new other than more villas with pools. No public transportation, no new constructions with other purpose than renting at high prices, no solution regarding water shortages while having 80 percent of the country surrounded by water, no desalinization, but same old markets where they try to tell you that you cannot pay with card and you need to bring a suitcase full of cash with you to be able to pay the exorbitant prices of anything. Where are all those money from the tourists? Nothing invested in a span of 10 years. Just complainments about tourists. No parking spots, no public transportation, do you want people visiting to park in the water?
I’m more worried about the fleet of immigrants who lands upon our beaches.
Do you mean tourists? These are the biggest problem Greece faces. The foreigners without papers who want to work and have a better life in Greece are actually needed, to fill job vacancies.
That’s much more to the point, Yannis.