Μake us preferred on Google The defacement of natural rock formations along the Acheron Gorge with anti-Zionist slogans is the latest instance of anti-Israel vandalism, again graffiti in this case, ostensibly by marginal but militant far-left groups in Greece.
The graffiti was discovered at the Acheron Springs area beyond Glyki, in the historic municipality of Souli. Photographs posted by the local news site thespro.gr show slogans painted in black spray paint at several locations along the gorge, including beside the Acheron River.
The slogans include “Free Palestine,” “Antifa Zone,” “Death Death I.D.F.” and “Kill Sionista.” The latter, if deemed as an explicit call for violence, is a criminal offense, while several of the inscriptions refer to the Israeli armed forces.
The municipality of Souli strongly condemned both the content of the slogans and the defacement of the rocks, describing the Acheron Gorge as one of the area’s most important natural landscapes. The municipality plans to file a police complaint against unknown perpetrators and seek to identify those responsible.
Authorities said they will also arrange for the graffiti to be removed, although officials said particular care will be required because the area is environmentally protected. The Acheron riverine system forms part of the European Union’s Natura 2000 ecological network because of its ecological importance and biodiversity.
The incident follows previous acts of vandalism in the area. In August 2019, slogans including “No drilling here” were spray-painted on rocks along the Acheron and were attributed by local media reports to foreign activists.
In May 2022, unknown perpetrators painted offensive slogans on rocks and plane-tree trunks along the path leading to the Acheron Springs and also damaged wooden structures used by visitors. Municipal authorities condemned the incident and said they would restore the site.
The latest vandalism comes as the Acheron Springs remain a popular tourist destination, raising renewed concerns over the protection and monitoring of the gorge.
The slogans appear to reflect political activism associated with small, self-styled anarchist and anti-state currents that have periodically used public spaces and symbolic sites in Greece to promote extremist political messages. Such groups and individuals have previously been associated with graffiti, “squats” and other forms of direct action, although there is no evidence at this stage identifying the perpetrators of the Acheron graffiti or establishing their affiliation with any particular organization.
The Acheron Gorge and River are strongly associated with the after-life underworld described in ancient Greek mythology and today comprise one of the best-known natural landscapes in the country.
Greece and Israel maintain a close strategic partnership spanning defense, energy, technology, tourism and trade, despite whatever backlash over Israel’s war in Gaza, a development that irritates much of the leftist and far-leftist political spectrum in the country.
