The Levant Files

The affair surrounding US Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle is bigger than gas, bigger than AKTOR and bigger than one ugly remark at a private dinner. It goes to a harder question: how much room is left for a small democracy to make its own decisions when an allied superpower arrives with political access, commercial interests and the confidence that it can shape events "here" as well? By the Editorial Team of TLF According to the Wall Street Journal's investigation , Guilfoyle clashed with Greek Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou at a March dinner in Athens attended by Greek and US officials. The discussion concerned Romania's expected government collapse. Guilfoyle was quoted as saying, "We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here." Papastavrou, the Journal reports, replied that the United States could not replace a Greek government elected by its people. Guilfoyle's lawyer disputes that account of the exchange. That matters. A seri...

  Benjamin Netanyahu did not surprise anyone at the United Nations. He came to defend Israel, confront its enemies and repeat arguments the world has heard many times before. What deserves closer attention is how much wider he chose to draw the circle of confrontation — taking aim not only at Iran, but at Qatar and Turkey. And there, standing increasingly close to Israel at a particularly dangerous moment, is Greece. By the Editorial Team of TLF Benjamin Netanyahu went to the UN General Assembly and, in many ways, delivered exactly the speech one would have expected from him. There was the defiance. There was the defence of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and its military campaign against Iran. And there was the familiar presentation of Israel as a country surrounded by enemies and forced to fight because, in Netanyahu’s words, “we have no other choice.” None of this was particularly surprising. What was more striking was the breadth of the confrontation Netanyahu chose to stage from the ...

A 44-year-old woman was brought out safely from a residential building in Nikaia, near Athens, on Wednesday evening after her partner allegedly prevented her from leaving. Police arrested the 49-year-old man following an operation by Greece’s EKAM special unit, according to Newsit.gr . The Police Operation Newsit reported that the man had said he was armed and was holding the woman in the building’s basement. Police officers and a specialist negotiator went to the address on Sofokleous Street. Shortly before 20:00, EKAM officers entered the building. They brought the woman out unharmed shortly afterwards and arrested the man. Traffic was diverted near the junction of Sofokleous and Vournova streets during the operation. The man was expected to be taken to the local police station in a vehicle separate from the one carrying the woman. Newsit’s report did not establish whether he possessed a weapon or explain what preceded the incident. It also referred to possible mental healt...

According to an analysis by journalist Christos Avramidis, published by Jacobin Greece, the Greek edition of the US socialist magazine Jacobin, which operates with support from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Ilias Kasidiaris's bid to return as an anti-establishment outsider is contradicted by Golden Dawn's record of serving shipowners and contractors. The former Golden Dawn MP and spokesman left Domokos prison that day after completing his sentence and announced plans to found a new nationalist party. Avramidis cites figures from the Hellenic Parliament's Directorate of Parliamentary Control, made public in 2013, showing that Golden Dawn MPs filed more than 140 questions, reports and document requests to the Ministry of Shipping in just over a year, on shipping companies, ferry services, ports and privatisations. In November 2012, MP Giorgos Germenis opposed the taxation of ships from the floor of Parliament, warning that shipowners would abandon the Greek flag if the meas...

Left-Wing Epohi Carries Boycott Campaign's Alarm An Israeli military shipbuilder is one of two remaining contenders for a controlling stake in the port of Lavrio, southeast of Athens, according to a text published on 23 September by Epohi, a Greek left-wing newspaper. The piece is signed by BDS Greece, the Greek branch of the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, and reads as a campaign appeal rather than a news report. According to the text, the Hellenic Growth Fund, Greece's sovereign wealth fund, is selling 51% of Lavrio Port Authority S.A., which operates the third-largest port in Attica. The buyer would gain corporate and operational control under a concession running until 2062. Lavrio lies close to Athens International Airport and faces the Cyclades, with growth potential in ferry services, cruises, yachting, ship repair and logistics. Five binding offers were submitted in June 2025. Citing press reports, BDS Greece says that after appeals and cou...

  By The Levant Files TLF SPECIAL — Israel’s expanding role in Greek and Cypriot air defence is creating a new strategic picture around Turkey. Viral claims that 65% of the country will fall under constant radar surveillance are overstated, but the network now taking shape could still transform early warning across the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean. Israel’s defence industry is becoming a central supplier to the two states positioned along Turkey’s southern and western maritime approaches. Cyprus has brought Israeli-made Barak MX air-defence systems into service. Greece has signed a €3.035 billion agreement with Israel to build Achilles Shield, an integrated air, missile and drone-defence architecture. Together, the decisions point towards a future in which Israeli sensors, missiles and command systems play a much larger role from Cyprus to the Aegean and Thrace. The latest debate was triggered by a dramatic claim circulating through Greek media and social networks: that Israeli...

  Η δολοφονία της 25χρονης Πηνελόπης από τον πρώην σύντροφό της προστίθεται στον μακρύ κατάλογο των γυναικοκτονιών στην Ελλάδα. Τα νεότερα ιατροδικαστικά ευρήματα αποκαλύπτουν την αγριότητα της επίθεσης. Read the English version of this news article here . Νέα στοιχεία έρχονται στο φως για τη δολοφονία της 25χρονης Πηνελόπης στην Ηγουμενίτσα, η οποία καταγράφεται από ελληνικά μέσα ενημέρωσης ως η 15η γυναικοκτονία στην Ελλάδα από την αρχή του 2026. Ο 27χρονος πρώην σύντροφός της έχει ομολογήσει ότι την σκότωσε το βράδυ της Κυριακής, 20 Σεπτεμβρίου, ενώ σε βάρος του έχει ασκηθεί δίωξη για ανθρωποκτονία από δόλο. Σύμφωνα με νεότερο δημοσίευμα του  Newsit.gr , η ιατροδικαστική εξέταση έδειξε ότι η 25χρονη έφερε επτά έως οκτώ τραύματα από μαχαίρι στην πλάτη, καθώς και δύο διατομές στον τράχηλο. Διαπιστώθηκε επίσης αμυντικό τραύμα στο αριστερό χέρι και άλλα τραύματα σε διαφορετικά σημεία του σώματός της. Το Newsit.gr αναφέρει ακόμη ότι ο 27χρονος έφερε τραύματα που αποδίδονται σε α...

  The killing of 25-year-old Penelope by her former partner in Igoumenitsa has again focused attention on violence against women in Greece. Fourteen femicides had already been recorded by the Greek section of the European Observatory on Femicide by late August. A 25-year-old woman killed by her former partner in the northwestern Greek city of Igoumenitsa suffered seven to eight stab wounds to her back and two deep cuts to her neck, according to new forensic findings reported by Newsit.gr. The victim, identified in Greek media as Penelope, was killed on the night of Sunday, September 20. Her 27-year-old former partner, from whom she had reportedly separated around a month earlier, has admitted killing her, according to Greek public broadcaster ERT. The latest forensic findings underline the violence of the attack. Newsit.gr reported on Tuesday that the examination found seven to eight stab wounds to Penelope's back, two cuts to her neck and a defensive injury to her l...

  Ilias Kasidiaris, the former deputy leader of Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, was released from Domokos Prison on Tuesday, September 15, after serving time on a conviction for directing a criminal organization, according to a report by Greek outlet Newsit. Dozens of supporters gathered outside the prison gates around noon to greet him, chanting "Ilias, remember, we are with you" and "Ilias, we love you," some reportedly hailing him as "the Prime Minister." Addressing the crowd, Kasidiaris said, "I gave you my word that when I pass through this gate I would return to the front lines of national struggles," adding, "I see that I am not alone but alongside me is a large national party like those that dominate Europe." He announced plans for an internet broadcast the following Monday to unveil the name and political program of a new party. Kasidiaris was sentenced to 13.5 years in October 2020 after an Athens court ruled that Gol...

  In a major milestone for global wildlife conservation, Attica Zoological Park near Athens has welcomed three critically endangered Sumatran tiger cubs, providing a crucial reinforcement for global efforts to save the subspecies from extinction. The related YouTube video from the Reuters The two-month-old triplets—two males and one female—were born in early July to mother Toba. The birth carries a bitter-sweet resonance for park staff: their father, Argos, succumbed to cancer just weeks after the litter arrived. In tribute to his memory and Greek heritage, park officials confirmed the cubs will receive names inspired by characters from Homer’s The Odyssey . Veterinary staff recently concluded the cubs’ first comprehensive health check. Led by wildlife veterinarian Dr. Arsenoi Psaroudaki, the team weighed the animals, administered core feline vaccinations protecting against three major infectious diseases, and implanted electronic identification microchips. Staff noted that despite...

  The war of words between Greek and Turkish media has intensified over the past two weeks, with outlets on both sides of the Aegean amplifying political rhetoric into near-daily exchanges of accusation and counter-accusation. The latest flashpoint came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan renewed calls for Greece to halt what Ankara calls the "illegal militarisation" of Aegean islands, warning Turkey would "do whatever is necessary" if Athens did not change course, as GreekReporter.com reported on September 2. A Turkish-language outlet, Manisa Manşet Gazetesi , quoted Erdoğan the same day warning that "those who mistake our composed approach for weakness are making a grave mistake." Turkish media then seized on the remarks: according to Greek City Times , one Turkish report cast Erdoğan's message as a warning to Greece as "Israel's pawn," while other outlets branded Athens a "bad neighbor" pursuing illegal military b...

Unutulan 1955 pogromu ve modern Türkiye'nin kimlik krizine zemin hazırlayan şiddet dolu etno-milliyetçilik 6-7 Eylül 1955 gecesi, İstanbul şehri "Septemvriana" veya İstanbul Pogromu olarak bilinen organize bir şiddet kâbusuna gömüldü. Halkın öfkesinin kendiliğinden bir patlaması olmaktan çok uzak olan bu olay; şehrin Rum azınlığının yanı sıra Ermeni ve Yahudi topluluklarına karşı başlatılan, titizlikle planlanmış, devlet destekli bir terör kampanyasıydı. Ölçek ve niyet bakımından Almanya'nın 1938'deki Kristal Gece'sine (Kristallnacht) benzeyen bu şiddet, Kıbrıs anlaşmazlığı üzerinden tırmanan gerilimlerle kasten ateşlendi. Kurgulanan bu felaket, yalnızca geniş çaplı yıkım, cinayet ve tecavüzlerle sonuçlanmakla kalmadı; aynı zamanda yüzyıllardır bu şehirde gelişip serpilmiş bir topluluğun trajik göçünü hızlandırarak Türkiye tarihinde silinmez bir yara izi bıraktı ve Türk-Yunan ilişkilerinin seyrini sonsuza dek değiştirdi. Kökler: Kıbrıs ve Türkiye'de Tırman...

Photo: Ert The forgotten 1955 pogrom and the violent ethno-nationalism that paved the way for modern Turkey's identity crisis On the night of September 6-7, 1955, the city of Istanbul was engulfed in a nightmare of organized violence known as the "Septemvriana" or the Istanbul Pogrom. Far from being a spontaneous outburst of public anger, this was a meticulously planned, state-sponsored campaign of terror unleashed against the city's Greek minority, as well as its Armenian and Jewish communities. The violence, comparable in scale and intent to Germany's 1938 Kristallnacht, was deliberately ignited by escalating tensions over the Cyprus dispute. This orchestrated catastrophe not only resulted in widespread destruction, murder, and rape but also accelerated the tragic exodus of a community that had thrived in the city for centuries, leaving an indelible scar on Turkish history and forever altering the course of Greco-Turkish relations. The Genesis: Cyprus and Rising...