Antisemitism in the Neighboring Island
Cyprus: “The Jews are Buying all of Our Land”
Cypriot political leaders claim Israelis are taking over land - Israeli ambassador warns: “Antisemitic rhetoric disguised as political concern”
Israeli real estate purchases on the neighboring island have become a focal point of antisemitic rhetoric and political incitement.
Cyprus’s second-largest party, AKEL, Secretary-General, Stefanos Stefanou, claimed that one of the country’s main problems is Israelis buying land near critical infrastructure and strategic areas.
“If we don’t take decisive action now, we will one day realize our land no longer belongs to us,” he warned.
Stefanou’s hate campaign on TikTok accused Israeli buyers of enabling the creation of gated communities, Zionist schools, synagogues, and control over key economic sectors.
He blamed his own government for allowing "uncontrolled" land sales, calling it a dire threat to national sovereignty. He urged President Nikos Christodoulides’s administration to act swiftly and decisively.
Stefanou claimed his statements were not rooted in xenophobia or antisemitism, but a genuine concern that Cyprus is losing control of its territory, and he even suggested the purchases extend into the Turkish-occupied areas of the island. During his speech, he noticeably ignored similar investment patterns by non-EU foreigners.
The Palestinian Ambassador to Cyprus, Abdullah Attari, even addressed the congress, marking the first time a foreign ambassador spoke at a local party event. Cyprus will hold parliamentary elections in June, and AKEL sees its criticism of Israel as a potential boost to its support.
AKEL, historically rooted in communism, has been anti-Israel for years, intensifying since October 7. While the party frequently discusses Gaza using terms like genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes, and starvation, this was the first time its leader employed overtly antisemitic language.
Stefanou’s comments drew widespread condemnation from central and moderate political figures and journalists, but the Cypriot government chose not to respond. Israel’s Ambassador to Cyprus, Oren Anolig, issued a strong condemnation:
“With deep concern and grave worry, we observe and denounce the emergence of atypical antisemitic rhetoric in public discourse in Cyprus in recent days. Rhetoric cloaked as ‘political concern’ that resurrects the dark patterns of the past: collective accusations, conspiracy theories, scapegoating an entire ethnic group.”
Anolig emphasized that “Diplomats are trained to avoid interfering in domestic affairs, but there are moments when silence becomes incomprehensible, or worse. When a line is crossed, when a community is singled out, when a shared value is under threat, we must speak up.”
Online Hate Campaign: “Cyprus Promised to Jews”
Alongside Stefanou’s statements, a TikTok campaign featuring AI-generated videos has stirred controversy. One clip shows a man portrayed as an ultra-Orthodox Jew with an Israeli accent, claiming that Israelis are continuously buying land because “God promised Cyprus to us after Israel.”
He even claims Israelis are purchasing property in the Turkish-occupied zones and building kosher restaurants there.
In another video filmed with a tallit and soundtrack of “Hava Nagila,” the “Jew” says: “Cyprus was promised to us 3,500 years ago, finally, I’m home.” The campaign insinuates that Israeli purchases are displacing Cypriots: “It’s already hard for a Cypriot to buy a home for themselves or their kids because Israelis are buying everything.”
Official figures show about 2,500 Israelis reside in Cyprus, but many hold dual EU citizenship, raising estimates to between 12,000 and 15,000 Israeli nationals, including investors who buy property for investment purposes.