Posted on 07/22/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
Out of concern for the safety of passengers on a Mano Maritime cruise ship that encountered a demonstration of close to 200 Palestinians, it was decided to prevent disembarkation at the island of Syros, where the ship had docked.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar spoke with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and requested his intervention in an effort to resolve the docking of the ship in Greece. Additionally, the Israeli Foreign Ministry, through the Israeli embassy in Greece, is monitoring and assisting with the incident.
In an interview with Israel National News, Bentsi Kaplan, owner of the Bituach Winery company and a passenger on the ship, described the incident.
"The ship was supposed to stop at the island of Syros, which has ten thousand residents, and here there are fewer than two hundred Palestinian demonstrators," he said, suggesting that the Israeli passengers should demonstrate in return: "What could happen..."
However, he added, "The ship management is not taking any risks. They brought everyone back on board. There’s a lot of pressure and chaos here, but they’re not willing to take chances," said Kaplan, who is on the ship with more than twenty of his grandchildren. "We boarded on Sunday, and now they’re bringing everyone back on board. It’s crazy here."
Regarding the passengers' reactions, he noted that some suggested going out to protest in front of the demonstrators, but the cruise company is unwilling to take that risk. He also mentioned that some of the passengers are elderly. He believes that it's unreasonable that, because of fewer than two hundred Palestinians, 2,000 Israelis are being stopped and prevented from going ashore.
Mano Maritime stated: “As in several places across Europe, a protest by dozens of pro-Palestinian activists is also taking place in Syros. We are in contact with the local authorities, and as a result, there is a slight delay in passenger disembarkation. The time spent in port will be extended accordingly.”