A taxi driver in the Greek city of Wallace, Effie, was recently asked the same question, pulling up Israeli passengers, and the other side asks if it is "for sale" every time a sign is passed, and almost every house is asked about the value.
This occurred more frequently after the outbreak of the Israeli conflict on the 7th of this month, when some of the Israelis she carried came to invest in real estate, heard of intermediary promises of returns, and wanted to find a summer resort.
That day she took a journalist to the Pelion Peninsula and heard that she was going to meet a couple of Israeli couples who intended to permanently settle, suddenly turning their eyes and asking: “Do they stay in winter too? is permanent settlement?”
The "golden visa" under the housing rush: Safe haven or investment?
It is not difficult to guess what the Israelis were thinking about rushing to Greece.Many people want to find a safe place, Greece's "golden visa" policy has become a springboard.
The policy requires investors to invest 250,000 to 400,000 euros by region to exchange residency, and the number of Israelis applying has surged in the past 18 months.
Merita Petru, founder of Greek Real Estate Service Company, said that these investments are mainly concentrated in real estate and tourism.
Israel's annual investment in Greece is about 500 million euros and is expected to double in the near future.
It was thought that it was only a short-term vacation home demand, and it was later found that many people were running for permanent settlement, real estate intermediary Yaniv Davison also confirmed that the number of consultations for "permanent settlement" after the conflict increased considerably.
However, this housing rush has not formed an "invasion" trend, as most Greek practitioners and politicians see it.
However, no one expected that the war in Gaza quickly overshadowed the excitement of real estate transactions. The changes on the streets of Greece rose faster than the rise of house prices. The impact of the conflict went beyond the mentality of immigrants.
Israel’s tourism data for 2024 is difficult to see, with the reception of overseas tourists falling sharply, and the economy being delayed, leading more people to shift assets to European countries such as Greece.
Greece in September to raise the gold visa threshold, hot regions have to invest 800,000 euros, many want to rush before the policy comes into force, which has pushed up the buying heat.
Street Graffiti and Port Protests: A "Cold Reception" in New Homes
The enthusiasm for buying a house was quickly poured cold water on the streets. The most common thing on the streets of Athens was anti-Israeli graffiti posted with anarchist slogans.
Words like "Fuck Israel" and "Israel Hell" can be seen everywhere, and some even cross out "Israel", meaning they do not recognize this country.
Most of the graffiti came from the protests against the Day of Wrath, when Israeli Ambassador Noam Katz ordered the mayor of Athens, Harris Ducas, to remove the graffiti, which resulted in his return: “We will not accept the democratic teaching of killing civilians.”
Israeli tourist Hilit Segar went to Athens for the sixth year, and this time she almost cried because of the Hebrew graffiti.
Her phone contained a photo of “do not accept Israelis” and whispered to a friend: “Is that what Netanyahu says about the ‘super-Spartacus economy’?”
The anti-Semitism also spread to communities and ports, the colourful left-wing ex-Saxon community, with many shops hanging Palestinian flags.
Last year, Israelis were expelled from the café because they refused to express their stance on the war.
Employees at the port of Piraeus simply refused to load ammunition destined for Israel, and the union said it must not support the "deadly war machine."
More dramatically, in July 2025, a cruise ship carrying 1,600 Israeli passengers sought to land on the Greek island of Syros, resulting in more than 300 protesters carrying a "stop genocide" banner blocked at the port, the cruise ship can only turn to Cyprus.
Together, these things made Israelis who moved to Greece unable to sit still. Maria, a media researcher, saw it clearly.
She told reporters that it was unfair for Israelis to come to Greece to either explain the government’s policies or clear the boundaries.
"But if you go shopping with a group of people waving the Israeli flag, you'll really get into trouble," she said, declining to reveal her full name for fear of being targeted by radical protesters. There are deep-seated reasons behind this confrontation.
Greece recognized the State of Palestine in 1988, and domestic leftist political parties have long regarded the Palestinian issue as a "anti-colonial" issue.
Former Interior Minister Alexis Harrisis put it bluntly. The vast majority of Greeks support Palestine and feel that there is a huge injustice hidden in this conflict.
The paradox of survival in opposition: Can goodwill serve as a "passport"?
It is unclear how the dissatisfaction with the Israeli government has fallen to the head of ordinary immigrants.
Panos Haritos, a journalist, took his Israeli friend Yehuda to the Exahya community. Instead of being excluded, he was welcomed.
“Yehuda’s treatment and passport have nothing to do with it, only because he is sincere and kind, and this is the best passport,” said Harithos, a rare warm moment.
He believes that most of the protests against Israelis are of a political nature and are not genuinely anti-Semitic.
For example, protests at cruise stops are essentially against war, not against Jews.
But Mary did not think so, and she thought the words of some Greek officials were genuinely anti-Jewish.
Health Minister Adonis Georgidis once said that the "Jewish lobby" controlled banks. Although he later apologized, no one really believed that he had changed his mind. What is even more worrying is the rise of the extreme right.
Immigration Minister Tanos Plevris, whose father was a Nazi and wrote anti-Semitic books, later apologized, but Maria felt that such people "opened the door to true anti-Semites."
Data from the European Anti-Semitic Observatory also show that after the conflict in 2023, Greece has seen more verbal attacks on Jewish groups.
Haritos suggested to Israeli immigrants that respect the local environment and avoid damaging the ecological and social structures should be treated like everyone else.
But coexistence would be problematic if it were to rebuild buildings, disregard the environment, and provoke neighbors hanging Palestinian flags like the “West Bank settlers.”
Former Interior Minister Harris’s warning is more real, making a clear distinction between the Israeli government and the people, but also saying “Israeli people don’t expect the world to function as it should.”
The impact of the war in Gaza will infiltrate the various fields of commerce and sport, the international community will change the view of Israel, and it will be difficult for ordinary people to be self-sufficient.
The current situation is quite embarrassing. Israelis came to Greece with the intention of fleeing the war, but found that the shadow of the war had followed it to their new homeland.
The candlelight protests in Syntagma Square didn't stop, the Palestinian flag in Exahya didn't take off, and the graffiti on the streets didn't be cleaned.
They bought a house with gold visas, but they couldn't buy a solid life.
This logic of linking state behavior and ordinary people is in fact absurd.
But in a highly interconnected world, distant conflicts are indeed hidden in every detail.
Haritos said that "sincerity and kindness are the best passport" may be the only solution at the moment.
The real refuge for these migrants in Greece is never a house or a visa.
When the graffiti on the streets is replaced by welcome signs, and when protesters can distinguish the government from individuals, the new home will really be a place to live.
I'm afraid this problem is not just something they have to face.