WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Shira relocated to the posh Athenian neighborhood of Kolonaki from Tel Aviv six months ago. And she is not alone. The Greek capital is emerging as a magnet for Zionists looking to escape a cost of living crisis at the occupied territories, and more recently, the regime’s political turmoil.
Hebrew now peppers the background chatter in boutiques around the Acropolis, and cafes in the seaside suburb. While data on the number of Zionists moving to Athens is hard to come by, evidence points to a sizeable wave crossing the Mediterranean.
“It’s a huge number,” Dimitris Melachroinos, CEO of Spitogatos, Greece’s leading online real estate platform, told MEE.
In the last 12 months, searches from the occupied territories for homes on Spitogatos increased 55 percent, propelling Zionists from 17 on the list of users to eighth place, according to data shared with MEE.
When the occupied territories was struck by massive protests in March over prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the regime’s judiciary, searches broke all records, hitting 48,000 compared to 24,000 in the same period last year.
“It wasn’t normal,” said Melachroinos, explaining that interest in Greek real estate usually pops after the busy summer tourist season. “At first I thought there was an error in the data. Israeli demand is growing rapidly, it’s just crazy.”
Moti Kahana, an Israeli American who once specialized in bringing Jews from countries like Syria and Afghanistan to the occupied territories, has now switched roles to facilitating emigration from the occupied territories over what he calls the regime’s “slide into fascism”.
“The number one destination for Israelis wanting to leave Israel right now is Greece,” Kahana said.
“Greece shares a Mediterranean culture with Israel and its close. You can live in Greece, work in Israel, and even visit your mom on the weekends,” he told MEE.
The new boom is being driven by ordinary Zionists and smaller investors. Real estate insiders tell MEE that the average price for Zionists looking to purchase a property in Athens is between 90-200k Euros ($99-$220k) in gentrifying neighborhoods like Exarchia, Kypseli and Omonia.
“Most of my clients aren’t rich people. They are ordinary Israelis who can’t buy back home or are tired of the rat race in Israel. Athens is a great option,” Farache said.