This week saw an unprecedented level of paranoia and rumours spreading on social media and centred on the once idyllic northern tourist town of Pai, in Mae Hong Son province. Some claimed that 30,000 Jewish settlers and tourists are overwhelming the small town of 28,000 people, hiding weapons, and turning the town into a new Promised Land.
The fears were widespread enough that PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra had to speak earlier this week, assuring the public that the fears about the “takeover” of the town of Pai by Israelis is unsubstantiated.
This is almost a stuff of fiction as Thailand is far away from the conflicts in Gaza, and the Middle East, and most Thais, for better or worse, made no public stance as to whether they support the state of Israel or Hamas and Jewish settlers, or the Palestinians in the occupied lands, and in Gaza.
Nevertheless, online disinformation has spread like a wildfire, partly driven by a few unruly and misbehaved Israeli tourists – four of them have been deported this week. Eventually, the Embassy of Israel in Bangkok broke silence and issued an unprecedented statement, essentially urging their citizens who are tourists in Thailand to behave and respect local ways and culture.
The guidelines given by the Embassy include: Avoid making loud voices in the streets, at hotels, and public places. Avoid disturbing others. Follow rules at various locations such as temples, markets, and public places. Dress appropriately and modestly in public. And strictly follow Thai laws and avoid problematic or illegal behaviour.
Thai officials from different agencies took turns inspecting the town and unanimously said there’s nothing illegal there and the fears hold no water.
Then a Jewish religious leader in Pai who cares for the Chabad House in Pai invited the local Thai media to tour the house in an attempt to dispel fears that war weapons are being hidden there, and told the press that everything was done and registered legally and jointly with a Thai citizen.
Mr Menachem Mendel Zajac, the 29-year-old Jewish religious leader and caretaker of the Chabad House in Pai, then told local journalists that due to security concerns, particularly after an Israeli citizen was killed in India, the house is off limits to foreigners (including Thais) and they have to request police protections from the local Thai police.
This is the unfortunate side effect of the on-going conflicts in the Middle East as it means they do feel vulnerable when abroad as they do not know who may have nefarious intentions towards them.
The fact that it’s also off limits to Thais will likely, if not inevitably, continue to be a cause of contention to some Thais and it’s hard to imagine a balanced approach that would satisfy both parties. Zajac stressed however that there are only about 40 to 50 Jewish families residing in Pai and not 30,000 people as claimed on social media. Perhaps locals and some Thai netizens got mixed up between tourists, or short-term visitors, and that of expat residents like Zajac.
Uncheck and unfettered rumours on social media can be poisonous if uncritically consumed. That’s one takeaway from the Pai-Israeli incident this week. While this writer is not advocating censorship, people need to be critical when consuming contents of anything posted as “news” or “fact” on social media, particularly by individuals. Do not share sensitive content uncritically or before being able to fact check them via other official and media sources.
In the final analysis, at the roots of the fears and mistrust about Israelis taking over Pai and turning the town into a new Promise Land is the decades-long conflicts in the Middle East and the fact that some Israelis continue to live in occupied lands and driving Palestinians away from conflict zones, or turn occupied lands into a colony, a settlement – thus stoking the fears of some locals in Pai and Thai netizens that Pai is also turning into an occupied land – no matter how far fetch the prospect may be.
This is why there’s little concern about Russians in Pattaya or Phuket, and the only other foreign group in Thailand that will continue to generate fears and resentments are Chinese from Mainland China. But that is due to their sheer and overwhelming number, money, reluctance to integrate, and the penchant for some to engage in crimes and illegal activities.
Thailand has embraced people of various cultures and ethnicities over the centuries and they have influenced and enriched our Thai cultures and so we should welcome a possible Jewish contribution to our culture, and even gene pool. Thailand, after all, is a nation of mongrels. We should welcome all here as long as they are willing to integrate (at least to a certain level) and adapt to local norms and laws.
Meanwhile, the relatively new Israeli families and religious leaders will have to try harder to differentiate themselves from some unruly Israeli tourists in Pai. They will have to try to integrate, at least to a certain level, and interact more with locals and seek to engage in activities that will be mutually beneficial to them and the local Thais, in order to avoid appearing to be turning Pai into an occupied East Bank.
