13 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Well I'm not sure if you're talking about true anti-semitism, or Jew hating, or if you're talking about something completely different, which is criticism of Israel and it's heinous genocidal policy. 

Yes and no.

You're smart enough to understand that a big part of the current wave of Jew hating is conflation of all Jews with the policies of the Israeli government. 

Jew haters are always looking for an excuse.

That's a great one  for them. 

On the internet comments section everywhere there is anything about Israel OR Jews the vast majority of posts are very vile, very raw, very ignorant hatred. It's endless.

On 9/23/2025 at 9:50 AM, spidermike007 said:

It would appear to me as a Centrist American Jew that Israel has not learned much from the Holocaust. 

Israel learnt one absolutely central lesson from The Holocaust. If they are not prepared to defend themselves, it will happen all over again.

 

As a "Centrist American Jew" you are somewhat insulated from that.

 

The Jews of Israel absolutely not.

 

2 minutes ago, JAG said:

Israel learnt one absolutely central lesson from The Holocaust. If they are not prepared to defend themselves, it will happen all over again.

 

As a "Centrist American Jew" you are somewhat insulated from that.

 

The Jews of Israel absolutely not.

 

Obviously but there is such as thing as taking things too far, in the current case, way too far.  At least a significant portion of even Israelis get that too. It doesn't matter if the charge of genocide is literally true really. What's happened is objectively horrific to the extreme.

11 minutes ago, JAG said:

Israel learnt one absolutely central lesson from The Holocaust. If they are not prepared to defend themselves, it will happen all over again.

 

As a "Centrist American Jew" you are somewhat insulated from that.

 

The Jews of Israel absolutely not.

 

A very simplistic viewpoint. There are millions of Jews in Israel who object to the government's policies, the extreme nature of the response and the genocide that's currently taking place, including high ranking former officers of their Armed Forces. 

 

Also though I despise Hamas and Hezbollah they did not get elected, and they did not come to power by accident. That is most people are blissfully ignorant of. 

 

The events leading up to the election of Hamas must be considered. On both sides. 

 

It was in January 2006 that the Palestinian territories held what turned out to be their last parliamentary elections. Hamas won a bare plurality of votes (44 percent to the more moderate Fatah party’s 41 percent) but, given the electoral system, a strong majority of seats (74 to 45). Neither party was keen on sharing power. Fighting broke out between the two. When a unity government was finally formed in June 2007, Hamas broke the deal, started murdering Fatah members, and, in the end, took total control of the Gaza Strip. Those who weren’t killed fled to the West Bank, and the territories have remained split ever since. In other words, Hamas’ absolute rule of Gaza is not what the Palestinians voted for back in 2006. In fact, since the median age of Gazans is 18, half of Hamas’ subjects weren’t even born when the election took place.

 

Bush entered his second term, in January 2005, convinced that his mission was to spread democracy around the world. He assumed that democracy was the natural state of humanity: Once a dictator was toppled and the people could vote for leaders in elections, freedom and liberty would bloom forth. Around this time, Israel was withdrawing from the Gaza Strip—not just pulling out troops, but evicting some 8,000 Jewish settlers (most of whom were paid to resettle in the West Bank). Suddenly there was a vacuum of local authority. Bush thought democracy would fill a vacuum, so he urged the Palestinian Authority to hold parliamentary elections. One problem, though: Radical parties—notably Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which had boycotted the 2005 presidential election—decided to compete in the 2006 parliamentary contests. 

 

Sharansky wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon denouncing the disengagement as a “tragic mistake” and arguing that “any concessions in the peace process must be linked to democratic reforms within Palestinian society.” Sharon disagreed (he just wanted to be done with Gaza), and so did Bush, who’d been so persuaded by the first part of Sharansky’s democratic sermon that he ignored this crucial second part. But the election that put Hamas in power was not inevitable; it was premature. Israel and the leaders of the neighboring Sunni Arab nations, who inveighed lavish rhetorical support for the Palestinians but did very little to back it up, could have done more to help build the elements of a civil society and negotiate a peace. But ultimately, they didn’t want to. Elections only tightened the bonds of conflict and lent it a veneer of legitimacy. Hamas’ murderous assault on Oct. 7, the subsequent escalation of violence, and the possibility of a widening war—these are the latest and most bitter fruits of the elections’ legacy.

 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/was-hamas-elected-to-govern-gaza-george-w-bush-2006-palestinian-election.html

 

Hamas came to power in Gaza before Netanyahu via dodgy elections. You may want to look at Bush's role in this.

 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/was-hamas-elected-to-govern-gaza-george-w-bush-2006-palestinian-election.html"

 

I don't really object to the event not being allowed out of security concerns.

There are security concerns with any Jewish event in the world now.

Even if the organizers offered to pay for all security costs, why should Thailand even risk such a problem in a public area related to tourism?

But what does rub me the wrong way is labelling a Jewish religious event as an Israeli event and giving heed to Muslim groups that make the same kind of ignorant conflation. 

 

How many of you actually know how Rosh Hashanah (aka Jewish New Year)  is celebrated?  It's a pretty staid occasion.  Can someone explain to me how any resident of Gaza or Muslim in southern Thailand benefits from Jews being forbidden to pray on a beach?  How can that be provocative to Muslims or a threat to public order?

 

The Rosh Hashanah service consists of prayer, singing, the blowing  of a shofar (ram's horn) and a ritual called Tashlich, in which a stone or bit of bread is tossed into a body of water as a symbol of casting away sin. To perform Tashlich is the reason for holding the service on a beach.

 

Of course Thai authorities can restrict the use of beaches for any reason, but this instance seems incredibly petty.  In the past, Jews in Phuket were allowed to hold a Rosh Hashanah service on the beach.  And take a look at these pics from past Hanukkah celebrations in Phuket ...

 

 

Rosh Hashanah is a far less vigorous celebration than Hanukkah.  Take a look at what Jews would have been doing on Phuket beach.

 

 

Conflating Israeli government policy with Jewish religious observances is not a good thing.  In fact, it amounts to ignorance and raw ... shall I say it?  shall I say it?  No, I won't.  Draw your own conclusions.   Remember, when the Nazis came to power in Germany in the 12930s, one of their first acts was to forbid public displays of the Jewish religion.

 

19 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

Thais wouldn't know a Jew from a Papist from a Lutheran.

 

That's very true.  As others have said, some Thais have ideas about Israelis, but know virtually nothing about Jews or Judaism.  Once I participated in a conference at a Thai resort which many well-educated professional Thais attended.  In the conference's "relax room," where participants could chat, have refreshments and watch TV between sessions, the classic U.S. movie The Ten Commandments appeared on a wall-mounted giant screen.  I was somewhat surprised how fascinated the Thais were in this film, but even more surprised they all thought it was about Muslims in the time of Mohammad.

 

On 9/22/2025 at 10:50 PM, spidermike007 said:

It would appear to me as a Centrist American Jew that Israel has not learned much from the Holocaust. 

 

I can only agree with what others have said.  Jews have learned the most important lesson of all:  they have to defend themselves and not rely on others to do it.  A secondary lesson is not to care too much about what non-Jews think of Jews' efforts to defend themselves.

It"s true.

Overall the Jewish high holy days are mostly the exact opposite of wild party times.

Personally they are so  heavy that I felt traumatized by them to the point of fully rejecting being religious.

On 9/23/2025 at 9:13 AM, Nick Carter icp said:

What's that whizzing noise that I can hear ?

The drones are coming

On 9/23/2025 at 9:29 AM, Surasak said:

I have to hope you do not support Hamas?

 

This is ALWAYS the false dichotomy.

 

If you don't support Israel you support terrorists (Hamas). People are so gullible.

 

Hamas was created by Israel. GIYF

13 hours ago, Jingthing said:

To that I would respond --

 

Anecdotal

 

The majority of non Israeli Jews aren't visible as Jews though Israelis usually are easily identifiable

 

Have you considered the Jews you've met read you as a Jew hater?

 

No reason to have never been one, but met many in Australia that were very arrogant and rude 

municipality clarified in a statement on Saturday that no such permission had been granted for religious activities on public property due to the sensitive nature of the issue.

 

This decision follows a letter from the Thai Friends of Palestine Club addressed to the Phuket governor. The club expressed opposition to the potential Israeli celebrations, warning that it could spark unrest in the region. They argued the event would contradict Thailand's stance on Israeli actions in Gaza and potentially escalate tensions in the Muslim-majority area.

 

Reasonable concern.

Thailand doesn't want a new ethnic conflict on their soil.

They already got the issue of the Muslim separatists in their deep south regions(Yala,  Pattani, Naratiwat). 

On 9/23/2025 at 9:01 AM, Surasak said:

Thieves don’t normally hand back that which they have stolen. In this particular instance it was taken with brute force and some ignorance.  

 

Unless they are busted and prosecuted by someone stronger than them.

As demonstrated after the end of WW2.

On 9/23/2025 at 7:37 PM, Thingamabob said:

Noted. You are calling me a liar. For the time being I will take that as nothing more than a petulant and childish comment. For the time being...

You quote Haaretz, a distinctly left-wing publication, which clearly states that atrocities were committed by Palestinians on 7th October 2023, including the killing of Israeli men, women, children and babies. 

12 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

 

How many of you actually know how Rosh Hashanah (aka Jewish New Year)  is celebrated?  It's a pretty staid occasion.  Can someone explain to me how any resident of Gaza or Muslim in southern Thailand benefits from Jews being forbidden to pray on a beach?  How can that be provocative to Muslims or a threat to public order?

 

The Rosh Hashanah service consists of prayer, singing, the blowing  of a shofar (ram's horn) and a ritual called Tashlich, in which a stone or bit of bread is tossed into a body of water as a symbol of casting away sin. To perform Tashlich is the reason for holding the service on a beach.

 

Of course Thai authorities can restrict the use of beaches for any reason, but this instance seems incredibly petty.  In the past, Jews in Phuket were allowed to hold a Rosh Hashanah service on the beach.  And take a look at these pics from past Hanukkah celebrations in Phuket ...

 

 

Rosh Hashanah is a far less vigorous celebration than Hanukkah.  Take a look at what Jews would have been doing on Phuket beach.

 

 

Conflating Israeli government policy with Jewish religious observances is not a good thing.  In fact, it amounts to ignorance and raw ... shall I say it?  shall I say it?  No, I won't.  Draw your own conclusions.   Remember, when the Nazis came to power in Germany in the 12930s, one of their first acts was to forbid public displays of the Jewish religion.

 

 

That's very true.  As others have said, some Thais have ideas about Israelis, but know virtually nothing about Jews or Judaism.  Once I participated in a conference at a Thai resort which many well-educated professional Thais attended.  In the conference's "relax room," where participants could chat, have refreshments and watch TV between sessions, the classic U.S. movie The Ten Commandments appeared on a wall-mounted giant screen.  I was somewhat surprised how fascinated the Thais were in this film, but even more surprised they all thought it was about Muslims in the time of Mohammad.

 

 

I can only agree with what others have said.  Jews have learned the most important lesson of all:  they have to defend themselves and not rely on others to do it.  A secondary lesson is not to care too much about what non-Jews think of Jews' efforts to defend themselves.

I completely agree with what you're saying about Thais having no knowledge whatsoever of Judaism. Many I've spoken to have never even heard of Judaism, or have never even been aware of seeing a Jew. Though they are certainly aware of Israel and Israelis are fairly deeply disliked in Thailand. I don't think that has anything to do with anti-Semitism but rather incredibly rowdy and ridiculous behavior on the part of many young Israeli tourists. 

Antisemitic conspiracy post removed @black tabby12345

24 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I completely agree with what you're saying about Thais having no knowledge whatsoever of Judaism. Many I've spoken to have never even heard of Judaism, or have never even been aware of seeing a Jew. Though they are certainly aware of Israel and Israelis are fairly deeply disliked in Thailand. I don't think that has anything to do with anti-Semitism but rather incredibly rowdy and ridiculous behavior on the part of many young Israeli tourists. 

 

And I completely agree that Israelis who behave badly in Thailand deserve the scorn of Thais.  That's not antisemitism, but a natural reaction to, as you say, "rowdy and ridiculous behavior."  If the bad behavior of Israeli tourists goes so far as to break Thai law, they should be arrested, jailed, fined or deported, whatever is appropriate under Thai law.  

 

The only proviso I would add is that Israeli tourists who misbehave  should be treated in the same manner as tourists from the US, UK, Scandinavian and other European countries, Australia, etc., who behave in similar fashion.  As long as Israelis get the same treatment as everyone else,  I have no sympathy for those Israelis who abuse their status as guests in Thailand.  

4 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

No reason to have never been one, but met many in Australia that were very arrogant and rude 

Cant be any worse than australians themselves

On 9/23/2025 at 6:58 AM, simon43 said:

Cann someone tell me why none of the other Arab nations in the Middle East accept the Palastinians to live in their countries?  After all, Saudi has a huge land area, for example.

Because they're all under the US-Israeli boot. 

50 minutes ago, chawbdurian said:

Because they're all under the US-Israeli boot. 

So the Israelis and the Americans don't want Palestinians to settle in Arab countries. WRONG!

Is it for all religions ? in that case no problem, or only for jewish religion ???

On 9/22/2025 at 10:43 AM, snoop1130 said:

Patong municipality has officially denied authorization for Jewish New Year celebrations to take place on Patong Beach.

 

Wonder how many New years tourist try to celebrate in Thailand per year. Must be close to 50 at least?

On 9/23/2025 at 8:23 AM, kiwikeith said:

Correct 

At the end of the war Palestine was offered to the Jews by the British but they didn't want it