Thank you so much for your open, honest, and very kind words. As you can imagine, they truly made an impact on me. It is honestly amazing how disarming and deescalating it can be when you're stuck in a heated debate and someone suddenly meets you with kindness and understanding. Unfortunately, hatred toward individuals or specific groups of people is contagious—a disease I thought I was immune to. I was mistaken. When you try to look at today's headlines completely objectively, you realize how absurd it all is. It’s like: "Extra! Extra! Read all about it! 'Two Russian children murdered by a Thai national, a young Thai woman murdered by an Australian, and fresh sightings of rude Israelis behaving badly.'" To think we are even having a debate just because a zoo owner in Thailand got into an argument with a guest somewhere. As if we didn't have anything better to do. And unfortunately, I took part in it. I feel embarrassed about that now. Discussing the actions of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank is justified, because they are one of our allies and it can have consequences for all of us. But whether a young Israeli woman in a massage parlor arrogantly claimed that her money built Thailand—as if there weren't other foreigners misbehaving in Thailand... And what does she even have to do with the conflict? I will no longer participate in the disparagement of Israelis who might not have behaved perfectly abroad, but whose behavior wouldn't even warrant a minor fine. Because even if it might surprise you, my motivation for participating in discussions about the Gaza Strip doesn't come solely from my concern for the future of the Palestinians. No, I am deeply worried about Israelis and Jewish people in general. Antisemitism is currently on a massive rise. This is precisely because the masses cannot, are too dumb to or simply don´t want to distinguish between war crimes—which must be rightfully condemned and the perpetrators held accountable—and people who simply share the same nationality or religion as the soldiers, and therefore bear absolutely no guilt and should never suffer for it. The world feels like a powder keg right now; even in Thailand, activists are calling for actions against Israelis. I stand by my belief: war criminals of any nationality belong in court, must be prosecuted, and should not get away with impunity. But Israelis or Jewish people, wherever they may be, who have absolutely nothing to do with the current conflict—regardless of whether they agree with the actions of their military or not, as that is freedom of speech—must under no circumstances be discriminated against or harmed. I say this both as a German and as a human being.
