“Don’t leave for your homeland without acquiring your home in Greece.” Israeli advertisement at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport
A massive billboard written in Hebrew urges visitors to purchase real estate starting from €90,000, provoking strong reactions among Greeks affected by the housing crisis.
A “gaping wound” at the country’s main gateway is how many describe the giant advertising billboard by Palmo Group at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport. Written entirely in Hebrew, the advertisement encourages Israeli visitors not to leave Greece without acquiring their own property, with prices starting at €90,000.
This move is perceived as ironic by the average Greek citizen, who is struggling under the weight of an unprecedented housing crisis. At a time when young people cannot afford even basic rent, Greek land is being “served up” as an investment opportunity to foreign capital seeking safety away from war zones in the Middle East.
This organized “sell-off” is now taking on dimensions of social and national transformation. Entire neighborhoods in Athens and on the islands are being turned into “luxury enclaves,” displacing local residents. The history and identity of these areas are being sacrificed for easy profit, turning the country into a mere “plot of land for exploitation.”
The anger is further fueled by reports and public statements, such as an alleged proposal by a member of the Israeli Defense Minister’s party suggesting the purchase of Greek islands as “safe havens” for the Jewish people.
These messianic and expansionist perceptions are causing significant concern, as many fear that the “escape” from the war front is translating into aggressive real estate acquisitions that drive up prices and make homeownership an unattainable dream for locals.
What would happen if the Greeks would do a banner on buying a piece of land in Israel? Shameful and evil!
Sandy. Nothing shameful or evil about it. Money talks. When someone offers to buy property that you want to sell, you dont care what he is. Jew or not. As for Greeks buying in Israel, that’s a joke. No Greek wants to live there, amid the falling bombs.
The Jews are notorious in real estate purchases. Greece and Cyprus are prime targets to them. Not the only countries in the EU. But, being in such proximity to Israel, plus representing a safer area, without thee fear of war or bombing, plus the security of European passport.
Greece and Cyprus, unfortunately, had a very low purchase price of $250,000 for access to Greek or Cypriot citizenship. I know that it has been increased. But Israelis have untold wealth, looking for safe investments. If Greeks are not careful, they’ll buy Greece fom under them, turning them into tenant in their own land. No need to look too far. The towns in New York and New Jersey, that were once populated by a mix of people, such as Monsey in N.Y and Lakewood in N.J., have become Hasidic strongholds, with adjacent gowns being under siege, to sell their land to them.
The problem is that the Jews make az higher offer for depressed property, which property owners dont mind selling. That happened in Greece, where flats, built during the 70’s, were being sold for $10,000 during the financial crisis. Owners of those flats would sell them to the Chinese, Jews or Albanians. They didn’t care. They just wanted money. With Greece’s young people leaving the country, very few young families setting up a family and home, plus a plethora of vacant buildings, some falling apart—ruins in Grece are not only the ancient ones, but also houses abandoned due to immigration–the country needed the influx of money
When it comes to money, you can’t appeal to anyone patriotism. Why should a Greek that owns property in Exarcheia for instance, where anarchists would take over the building, house all kinds of drug addicts migrants and “revolutionaries”, with the police being afraid to clear them out? Once Mitsotakis took over, the cleaning up of those properties from the anarchists was one of his first actions.
So, ask yourselves. Would you rather have the anarchists control your building, or having property that had lost value, because no young Greeks would buy it, or would you sell it to the first person with money that came along, Jew or Chinese included? You can’t appeal to patriotism. Only to personal interest.
Conclusion: Greece and Cyprus would turn into Abu Dhabi, with only 10% of the population being Greek.