Do Israelis See Cyprus as a New Promised Land?

SadaNews - When "Doron" (a pseudonym) entered a small Syrian restaurant in the Cypriot city of Limassol with his family, he was proud and cheerful. He said in Hebrew, thinking no one among the customers understood it: "We can't eat hummus in Damascus, so at least we eat it in a Syrian restaurant here." And they all laughed.

But this was not an ordinary joke; it contains a lot of symbolism that goes beyond the small restaurant.

For instance, here we meet Noam Shani, a doctor and researcher who left Israel at the beginning of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, protesting against the coup on the ruling system and the judiciary, and settled in Cyprus where he became a businessman in real estate. Shani formed a partnership with Ahmad Al-Hilali, a Syrian businessman who also fled Syria during Bashar al-Assad's era and established himself in Cyprus. The two men were looking for a country that provides its citizens with opportunities for work and success, and they met by chance. Shani and Al-Hilali built a friendship that turned into a partnership, and both declare that they are settled and will remain in Cyprus, even if peace prevails in their countries.

But why Cyprus? It has witnessed intense discussions in recent months about the increasing migration to it in general and specifically the migration of Israelis?

Good Neighborliness

Anyone you ask here in Limassol responds with a series of expressions of appreciation for this island: "It maintains good neighborliness," "It has real calm and peace of mind," "Good people with high values," "Similar to us in climate, food, and music," "A European town officially and a Middle Eastern one in essence," and more.

However, Cypriots do not seem comfortable with this influx of Syrians and Israelis to their quiet town. The taxi driver who took us from Larnaca airport to Limassol said, "We love people. And we have no problems with guests. But we are witnessing outrageous increases in housing prices since immigration to us began. Prices are rising in all aspects of living. Our government is failing to change this reality." This complaint was echoed by other taxi drivers, as well as hotel staff and shopkeepers, and many journalists we met.

“Israeli Settlement”

Today, about 15,000 Israelis live in Cyprus, and their presence has sparked intense debates, reaching the point where the Secretary-General of the leftist party "AKEL", the second-largest party in the country, Demetris Christofias, warned of a phenomenon of "Jewish colonial invasion of the island." Christofias, who served as President of the Republic (2008-2013), is a prominent figure in the country and enjoys popular acceptance. An Israeli diplomat who served in Nicosia sees him as "a dangerous and influential figure, and Israel should engage with him to alter this extreme rhetoric."

The official Israeli television "Kan 11" aired a report in the last week titled "Cyprus Express" discussing the lives of Israelis in Cyprus, using the term "Israeli settlement". The report's producers met several Israelis who settled on the island, the majority of whom confirmed they do not plan to return to their home country in the near future, as they see living in Cyprus as better than in Israel.

A large segment of them are successful individuals in real estate, medicine, technology, and commerce, finding that human relationships here are absent in Israel. Notably, this migration has begun to form a real community, with Jewish schools, synagogues, "kosher" (halal) restaurants, high-rise buildings, and neighborhoods with Israeli majorities in major cities like Limassol, Paphos, Larnaca, and Ayia Napa. Hebrew is clearly heard in markets, restaurants, and luxury hotels, and they even have a Jewish cemetery now.

“Another Promised Land”

The Cypriot newspaper "Politis" discussed the "increase in real estate purchases by Israelis on the island in recent years, especially after the outbreak of the war between Israel and Iran." The newspaper reported in an article titled: "Like Another Promised Land... Why Are Jews Buying Land in Cyprus?" that there appears to be a "organized trend to establish a stable foothold for Israelis outside of Israel."

AKEL proposed two bills to the Cypriot House of Representatives aimed at "regulating and controlling the mechanisms of granting golden visas," which are granted to foreigners in exchange for investments of no less than 300,000 euros in real estate or shares in companies, and monitoring other processes that "are used as alternatives and allow citizens of third countries to collectively purchase properties, often in geographically sensitive areas near critical facilities of the Republic of Cyprus."

The party's Secretary-General stated: "Our country is being taken from us... Israel occupies us. Israelis are buying properties in sensitive areas that threaten the island's national security."

A Minority Among Minorities

Israelis find this trend surprising and consider it to fall "within the framework of anti-Semitism." As one Israeli diplomat, who preferred to remain anonymous, said: "There are other larger minorities in Cyprus (than Israelis). There are around 30,000 Russians, for example, and 40,000 British, so why don’t they object to them? They objected to the Syrian presence, which is reported by the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be 33,000, but the opposition has begun to weaken after the collapse of the Assad regime and the beginning of their return to their home country. Now, they are only attacking the Israeli presence." He added: "Among the Israeli citizens in Cyprus, there are also Arabs (from the Palestinians of 1948). But the criticisms are directed only at the Jewish presence."

Silent Security Cooperation

What is striking about this entire story is that the criticisms heard in Cyprus regarding the Israeli presence talk about these citizens who chose to live on the island in search of welfare, prosperity, and security, not about the deep, very deep security presence of Israel.

This country, which was one of the first European nations to empathize with the Palestinian people and recognize Palestine as a state, and whose president, Archbishop Makarios, attacked Israeli occupation policies, absorbed a large group of Palestinian elites after their expulsion from Beirut in the 1980s, and from its capital, magazines like "Palestine Revolution" and other publications from the "Palestinian Liberation Organization" were issued, has turned in the last three decades into a rear base for Israel.

During the war on Iran, El Al Airlines moved its civilian planes to Nicosia, fearing being hit by Iranian and Houthi missiles. It was a striking manifestation of the significant change in relations between the two countries, which began with the launch of the Madrid Peace Conference.

At that time, Cyprus also joined the train of countries that improved their relations with Israel to encourage it to proceed on the path of peace and justice for the Palestinian people. As usual, Israeli governments have been interested in testing good intentions in security affairs, offering Cyprus to be part of a group of countries fighting terrorism. Under this broad title, Tel Aviv presented a proposal for intelligence cooperation that quickly reached levels of military collaboration. Israel reaped the benefits following the deterioration of relations between Cyprus and Turkey.

This was particularly evident with the Freedom Flotilla incident, when Israel attacked the Mavi Marmara and killed nine Turkish sailors, leading to a deterioration in relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv. Israel was forced to close a Mossad base in Turkey. Turkey halted its territories and airspace to Israeli military activity and canceled an agreement that allowed the Israeli Air Force to conduct its war exercises in Turkey. Israel began looking for an alternative, which turned out to be Greece and Cyprus.

Around this time ten years ago, specifically on July 28, 2015, Netanyahu made an official visit to Nicosia and signed an agreement to conduct military exercises on its territory.

In June 2017, Israeli soldiers conducted "combat training on enemy territory" in Cyprus for a full week, including 500 fighters, among them a commando battalion. According to "The Times of Israel," the exercise tested the commando soldiers' capabilities in new and high-challenge conditions similar to those in Lebanon. It turned out that this was the sixth exercise of its kind but was exceptional due to its scale and the Israeli army's acknowledgment that commando soldiers were present in a foreign country.

Simulating the Iranian System

In April of last year, Israeli Channel 12 reported that military sources said that Israeli maneuvers in Cyprus simulated preparing both defensive and offensive systems to respond to any Iranian attack. Senior military officials in the Israeli army emphasized that the army is prepared for any military operation on any front and that the maneuvers in Cyprus are aimed at training the Air Force, which was busy conducting operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

In June 2024, the then Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, warned Cyprus due to the arrival of "information indicating that the Israeli army conducts maneuvers in Cyprus every year in mountainous areas similar to Lebanon and uses Cypriot airports." Nasrallah added during a memorial for one of the party’s leaders: "Israel assumes that in the next war, the resistance in Lebanon will target Israeli airports and runways, so it will compensate by using Cypriot airports and bases in its war against Lebanon." He continued, "Opening Cypriot airports and bases to the Israeli enemy targeting Lebanon means that the Cypriot government is part of the war and the resistance will treat it as part of the war."

Although Cyprus responded to this by denying the information, the denial did not diminish the significance of the extensive military cooperation between the two countries. It remains ongoing and firmly established.

Therefore, the issue of 15,000 Israelis entering for humanitarian living and work in Cyprus, with all it entails of "heaviness" for the Cypriots, and the excesses and reckless talk about Jewish settlement, is not the actual source of threat or concern for Cypriot citizens, but rather that heavy military cooperation.