Greece arrests 2 men suspected of planning attacks on Jewish sites in Athens
The Mossad aided in the investigation
Women enter a Jewish restaurant in central Athens, March 28, 2023. Greek police sources said they arrested two men who targeted the building. (Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — Greek authorities arrested two men on Tuesday who were planning mass terrorist attacks on Jewish sites in Athens, including a Chabad outpost and a Jewish restaurant, according to reports.
The Mossad, Israel’s spy agency which contributed to the investigation, told the Associated Press that the men, who are Pakistani nationals, are also part of an Iranian terror network. A third man is wanted for questioning. The group reportedly entered Greece from Turkey illegally four months ago.
“After the investigation of the suspects began in Greece, Mossad assisted in unraveling intelligence of the infrastructure, the methods of operation, and the connection to Iran,” the Israeli agency said in a statement.
The arrests offer the latest indication that Iranian operatives are active across Europe and frequently targeting Jews. Last summer, as a record number of Israelis visited Turkey, Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, and its Turkish counterpart, hunted through Istanbul for an Iranian cell that had reportedly been tasked with targeting Israeli tourists. Also last year, the Washington Post reported that Iran had targeted prominent Jews and Israelis around the world, including the French Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, has also been targeted, according to German authorities, who recently also revealed that multiple unsolved shootings at German synagogues are believed to be connected to Iranian operatives.
In Greece, home to between 2,000 and 3,000 Jews, the attacks were believed to be imminent, officials said, noting that the suspects “had received final instructions” to carry them out. Police searched for the suspects in Athens, southern Greece and the island of Zakynthos.
“Their aim was not only to cause the loss of life of innocent citizens, but also to undermine the sense of security in the country, while hurting public institutions and threatening [Greece’s] international relations,” Greek police wrote in a statement.
The statement did not name the restaurant targeted by the attackers, but Gostijo, a kosher Sephardic Mediterranean restaurant, is housed within the Chabad of Athens near of the city’s tourist center.
The United States has classified Iran as a state sponsor of terrorist activity around the world since 1984. Security analysts say the country is more often turning to “soft targets” such as Jews and Israelis, because its high-level assassination plots were too often foiled.
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
