HERAKLION, Greece — Israeli tourists are briefly blocked and attacked by anti-Israel protesters when departing from the Crown Iris cruise ship in Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete.
The protesters, some waving Palestinian flags, clash with police who were seeking to secure the passageway of the Israeli tourists.
Passenger Ido Nachum says he was escorted from the port towards the town center by police officers, but tells The Times of Israel that around a dozen protesters attacked and accosted them, physically assaulting the police officers who were forced to call for backup. Nachum says that the protesters were masked and wearing keffiyehs and that he felt “a bit scared.”
Police then advised the Israelis to return to the ship, as there appeared to be protesters waiting at all routes from the port.
“It is a shame,” says passenger Marlyn Zohar, as she stood in the port. “We came from Israel, we wanted to enjoy ourselves.”
The ship docked without incident yesterday at Rhodes, though under heavy security from armed officers. The ship had been scheduled to sail from Rhodes to Nikanos but changed its destination due to bad weather.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
