Phuket Jewish New Year event cancelled on security grounds

Israeli authorities take note of increasingly aggressive tone of protesters

A Jewish New Year celebration in Phuket was cancelled at the last minute on Friday evening because of concerns raised by Israeli security officials, organisers said.

The decision was taken as an estimated 500 people gathered about 500 metres from the Chabad House in the Patong area for a rally organised by a group calling itself Save Phuket.

Participants carried signs reading “Save Phuket No Israel”, and chants of “Free Palestine” were heard at the rally.

The protest organisers later issued a more ominous message: “We are monitoring the situation surrounding the Jewish New Year event in the Patong area. These Jews are staying inside their mansions.”

Organisers of the Rosh Hashana observance had originally expected more than 1,000 people to take part at two venues: the Chabad House and a local hotel. After consultations with Phuket officials about security, they agreed to scale back the event to about 700 people at the Chabad House only.

Phuket Deputy Governor Khetrat Chansilp earlier quoted organisers as saying that cancelling the event would harm Phuket’s image and cause financial losses.

But given the steady drumbeat of anti-Israel rhetoric in recent days in Thailand, including antisemitic messages at a rally led by protest veteran Sondhi Limthongkul in Bangkok, it was deemed that holding the event could be risky.

“Dear guests! Due to a request from Israeli security officials, we deeply regret that we are cancelling the event. Please do not approach the area,” read a message sent out by the local Chabad House to those who had registered for the holiday dinner.

“The protesters could become violent, and it is dangerous.”

The Chabad House said that all other Rosh Hashanah prayers and festive meals scheduled from Saturday onward were still expected to take place as usual.

The events in Phuket are receiving widespread coverage in major media outlets in Israel, including the Jerusalem Post, which carried this account of the Save Phuket campaign:

“The organisers attempted to justify their actions, or rather whitewash their antisemitism, by describing the protest as ‘an important step in protecting the traditions and customs of the Thai people from disturbances by foreigners’.”

The Times of Israel quoted Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, as saying he was deeply concerned by “rising antisemitic rhetoric in Thailand”.

“The State Department remains in close contact with Thai authorities to ensure that the Jewish community is protected during the holiday season,” he wrote on X.