Israeli Woman Denied Service at Athens Restaurant After Revealing Nationality

Anna Dushin, a new immigrant from Haifa, Israel, experienced discrimination while traveling alone in Athens, Greece. On the night of July 13 at around 10:30 PM, she sat down at Vinoir Bistro and ordered a hookah. When a young employee asked her where she was from and she replied Israel, his attitude abruptly changed. He firmly told her, "There is no hookah for you," took back the hookah, and refused to serve her further.

Dushin described feeling humiliated, frightened, and distressed, especially as a lone woman in a foreign country. She immediately left the restaurant and returned to her accommodation deeply shaken. She noted that she had heard Hebrew spoken around her and seen many Israeli tourists, so she did not expect such a reaction. Dushin was unsure whether the employee was a waiter or the owner but emphasized the incident left her with a strong sense of discrimination solely due to her Israeli nationality.

This was the first time she encountered such treatment, and she shared her experience with ynet to highlight the emotional impact of the event and the prejudice she faced abroad.