Michal Rubin, a young woman from Yokneam who was traveling to Italy with a friend, said she was shocked when they landed in Sardinia and found pro-Palestinian activists waiting for them inside the airport terminal area. According to Rubin, the group surrounded them, shouted slogans including “Free Palestine,” and yelled anti-Israel chants as soon as they arrived.
Rubin told mako that the activists were already waiting near the luggage-claim exit, and that they had been allowed into the terminal while accompanied by police. “This was the first welcome we got as Israelis, moments after landing for our vacation,” she said. “It was not pleasant, and we noticed that some of the demonstrators also filmed me and my friend, as well as some of the Israeli passengers who were on the flight with us, once they realized we were on the Tel Aviv flight.”
The report says the Sardinia incident is part of a recent wave of antisemitic incidents and harassment targeting Israeli and Jewish travelers across Europe. It cites earlier cases, including an airport display with a sign in Hebrew reading, “War criminals are not welcome,” which was meant to intimidate Israelis upon arrival.
The article also says the hostility is not limited to airports and has spread into major city centers. In another case, an Israeli traveler found graffiti in Madrid that included the phrase, “Murderers smell like garbage.” The incidents, the report says, show the hostile atmosphere Israeli tourists are facing from the moment they land and as they move through European cities.
