Embassy of Israel, Athens

The embassy is situated at 1 Marathondromon Street, P. Psychiko 15452, in the northern Athens suburb of Psychiko.[1][2] Visits require an advance appointment. The embassy currently lists the consular telephone numbers 2106705502 and 2106705508 and the email addresses consular2@athens.mfa.gov.il and consular3@athens.mfa.gov.il.[2] Its general telephone number is +30 210-6705500, while World Jewish Congress and Jewish Virtual Library directories list the fax number as +30 210-6705555.[1][6] The embassy lists +30-694-4271668 as its emergency WhatsApp line when the mission is closed; the same number was publicized during security concerns in August 2026.[2][7]

The embassy's official bilateral-relations page records Greek de facto recognition of Israel and Israeli diplomatic representation in Athens in 1949, followed by de jure recognition in 1990.[4] A Jewish Virtual Library timeline gives May 21, 1990, as the date Greece granted de jure recognition and established full diplomatic relations.[5] Its separate diplomatic-missions table lists the Athens embassy as undergoing an "Upgrading" in May 1991, indicating a later milestone in the status of Israel's representation.[8] Secondary accounts differ in terminology and timing: the World Jewish Congress and a Jewish Review of Books article describe full or official recognition as occurring in 1991.[1][9]

Writing in 1990, Marc H. Tanenbaum said Greece's newly elected government moved quickly to establish full relations after years of evasion under the Papandreou government. He credited the American Greek Orthodox community with influencing Athens despite opposition from Arab Orthodox constituencies.[10] Relations warmed further after Israeli-Turkish ties deteriorated following the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla incident.[9] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the first official visit to Greece by an Israeli prime minister in August 2010, opening a new phase of bilateral engagement.[1][11]

Noam Katz has served as Israel's ambassador to Greece since September 2022.[12] A career diplomat specializing in strategic communications and public diplomacy, Katz previously served as deputy director-general for public diplomacy at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[12] His predecessor, Ambassador Yossi Amrani, was serving at the mission as of March 2020.[13]

The embassy operates a consular department serving Israeli citizens living in Greece, Israelis visiting the country, and foreign nationals seeking to travel to Israel.[14] Its academic department promotes Israel-Greece relations in education, awards scholarships, and communicates through the embassy's social-media channels.[14] The departments page also lists commercial, cultural, and press functions, including efforts to strengthen economic relations and promote Israeli culture in Greece.[14]

The embassy has engaged Greek audiences through cultural and innovation-oriented programming. Events and competitions organized by the mission offered winners an opportunity to participate in the DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival, an initiative that the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies placed in the context of Greek entrepreneurs' interest in Israel as a technology and start-up nation.[11]

The embassy and its predecessor diplomatic mission have been targeted in several attacks. On August 10, 1981, two explosive devices detonated outside Israel's diplomatic mission in Athens, causing slight damage to the facility. The cited Israeli government record does not identify a perpetrator.[15]

On December 12, 2014, an unknown group fired approximately 50 rounds at the Israeli Embassy in Athens in a terrorist attack.[16] A later U.S. Department of State report recorded no injuries and minor damage and said shells found at the embassy matched those used in the December 30, 2013 attack on the German ambassador's residence.[17] The attackers remained at large at the end of 2014.[16]

By early 2015, reports said the far-left Popular Fighters Group, also known as the Group of Popular Fighters or OLA, had claimed responsibility.[17][18] The State Department subsequently identified OLA as the group behind the attack. In September 2020, Greek authorities arrested three alleged OLA members in Athens and found 10 kilograms of gelignite, detonators, and materials for making explosives in a warehouse belonging to one suspect.[19]

A Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs account reports that, during demonstrations associated with Operation Cast Lead, approximately 3,000 people marched in Athens and threw rocks at the Israeli embassy amid broader unrest in Greece.[20] Operation Cast Lead lasted from December 27, 2008, to January 18, 2009, but the account does not provide an exact date for the Athens demonstration.[20] A Maariv report said pro-Palestinian demonstrators launched fireworks toward the embassy during protests on August 27, 2025; it reported no significant damage or injuries.[21]

In February 2025, two Israeli nationals were stabbed in central Athens after their attackers reportedly identified them by hearing Hebrew and seeing their Star of David necklaces.[22] One suspect, described as originally from Gaza, was apprehended while another escaped. Neither Israeli required hospitalization, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the case was being handled with the embassy.[22]

In April 2024, a planned Easter concert featuring Israeli conductor Yuval Zorn and the Athens Symphony Orchestra was cancelled following pressure from left-wing opposition parties and calls at a city council meeting to withdraw the event.[23] The concert had been publicized under the embassy's logo. Athens Mayor Haris Doukas told Ambassador Katz that musicians were apprehensive about participating and that he saw no practical alternative to cancellation. After consulting Athens's Jewish community leadership, Katz asked that the event be described as postponed rather than cancelled.[23]

In August 2025, Ambassador Katz criticized Mayor Doukas for what Katz described as an insufficient response to antisemitic graffiti and organized hostile groups, saying Israeli visitors were being made to feel uncomfortable in Athens.[24] Doukas responded that the city opposed violence and racism, defended freedom of expression, and would not accept lectures on democracy from people he accused of killing civilians in Gaza.[24]