Israel’s ambassador to Thailand plays down anti-Israeli protests

Thailand has long been welcoming to Israelis in a way some other countries have not — and Israel’s ambassador wants it to stay that way, after several anti-Israeli protests and disputes involving tourists.

“We have to work together to make sure that the conflict in the Middle East is not imported here to Thailand,” Ambassador Alona Fisher-Kamm tells AFP in an interview.

“It’s still very hard for me to use the word antisemitic here in Thailand,” she says at the embassy in Bangkok.

“It’s really, really far from their mentality, from their tolerance, from what they think.”

On several occasions in recent weeks, protesters have gathered outside the embassy to voice their displeasure with Israelis.

During a rally last week led by Sondhi Limthongkul, leader of the ultra-royalist “Yellow Shirt” movement, some demonstrators brandished signs reading “Jews Out” or “You Jewish folks don’t understand Thai culture, so get out.”

Protests also took place on the tourist island of Phuket, where a dinner organized to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, was canceled at the last minute due to fears of violence.

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, a special envoy on antisemitism for the US State Department, said on X he was “deeply concerned by rising antisemitic rhetoric in Thailand.”

The protesters have been primarily focused on alleged instances of rude or inconsiderate behavior by Israeli tourists, who are accused of failing to respect local customs.

“I believe that there is a kind of culture gap between Israelis and Thais,” acknowledges Fisher-Kamm, noting some “cases of disrespect” and “misbehavior.”

The ambassador plays down the incidents, arguing there is a “phenomenon to amplify or to take these incidents out of proportion.”

“There is a kind of campaign in the social media that is trying to separate between Israelis and Thais,” she adds.

Nonetheless, Fisher-Kamm met last week with Thailand’s foreign minister, Sihasak Phuangketkeow, to discuss the situation and, as she puts it, “to see what can be done to minimize this.”

“It’s a beautiful country. The people are tolerant, they are nice, they are smart, they are welcoming,” says Fisher-Kamm. “It’s not a secret that Europe might not be as appealing as it was for Israeli tourists these days. They are trying to be as far as possible from the conflict.”