PHUKET, Thailand | A major Rosh Hashanah dinner for Jewish and Israeli visitors in Phuket was cancelled Friday after approximately 500 demonstrators marched near the local Chabad House, prompting Israeli security officials to warn that the gathering could become dangerous.
Chabad organizers told registered guests not to approach the area after receiving a request from Israeli security officials to cancel the event.
โPlease do not approach the area,โ organizers warned attendees, adding that protesters could become violent.
The cancellation followed several days of protests against Israeli tourists and Jewish community activity in Thailand, including demonstrations in Phuket and outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok.
No attack or arrest connected to the canceled dinner had been reported.
Hundreds March Toward Chabad House
More than 500 people participated in the Sept. 11 Phuket demonstration, according to Thai and Israeli reporting.
The protesters included Buddhist and Muslim networks and marched from Patong Beach toward Chabad House while police and administrative officials were deployed to maintain order.
Signs included the message โSave Phuket, No Israel,โ while demonstrators also chanted โFree Palestine.โ
Chabad had initially planned a large Rosh Hashanah gathering for Friday evening.
Local reporting before the cancellation indicated that approximately 700 to 800 people were expected to attend, while some Israeli reports placed the planned attendance substantially higher.
The event was ultimately called off after the security assessment changed.
Other Rosh Hashanah prayers and meals scheduled by Chabad from Saturday onward were expected to continue.
Protests Included Antisemitic Rhetoric
The Phuket demonstration was publicly framed around opposition to Israeli visitors and concerns about foreign influence.
However, protests in Thailand this week also included rhetoric targeting Jews more broadly.
At a demonstration outside Israelโs embassy in Bangkok on Sept. 10, signs reportedly told Jews to leave Thailand, while political activist Sondhi Limthongkul read a letter accusing Chabad centers of buying Thai land to advance the objectives of what he called โinternational Zionist networks.โ
That language moves beyond conventional criticism of Israel and invokes conspiracy themes concerning coordinated Jewish or Zionist control.
Other reported messages included โJews outโ and statements telling Jewish people to leave the country.
The available reporting does not establish that every participant in the Phuket demonstration endorsed those statements.
The protests nevertheless created a security environment in which organizers concluded that a large Jewish holiday gathering could not proceed safely.
U.S. Antisemitism Envoy Raises Concern
Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, publicly expressed concern over the situation.
โI am deeply concerned by rising antisemitic rhetoric in Thailand,โ Kaploun said.
He added that the U.S. State Department was in close contact with Thai authorities to help ensure the Jewish community’s protection during the holiday period.
The intervention elevated the controversy beyond a local tourism dispute and into an international Jewish security issue.
Thai Authorities Had Initially Allowed Event to Proceed
The cancellation did not result from an earlier government ban.
Thai authorities said Thursday that the Rosh Hashanah event could proceed despite protesters’ attempts to cancel it.
Organizers reportedly agreed to reduce expected attendance and shorten the event to address security concerns.
By Friday, however, the protest near Chabad House and the possibility of confrontation led Israeli security officials to recommend cancellation.
That distinction is important.
The dinner was not canceled because authorities ruled the Jewish gathering unlawful.
Organizers canceled it because they concluded the security environment had deteriorated enough to make proceeding unsafe.
Dispute Has Expanded Beyond Phuket
The Phuket controversy has developed amid wider tension surrounding Israeli tourism in Thailand.
Thailand is one of the most popular destinations for Israeli travelers, and large numbers of Israelis visit Phuket, Koh Samui and other tourist areas each year.
Recent controversies involving individual Israeli tourists have fuelled local resentment in some areas.
Thai officials have emphasized that foreign visitors must respect local laws and customs, while Israeli diplomats have said they are working to promote responsible tourism and maintain positive relations between Israelis and Thai communities.
Those legitimate disputes over tourism and local conduct are separate from rhetoric targeting Jews as a group.
The appearance of explicitly anti-Jewish messages and conspiracy claims about international Zionist networks has therefore raised concerns that opposition to Israeli visitors is, in some cases, crossing into antisemitism.
Jewish Holiday Celebration Disrupted Without an Attack
No physical attack on the Phuket Chabad House was reported.
No arrests connected to the protest had been announced.
The incident’s significance lies instead in what did not happen.
Hundreds of Jewish and Israeli visitors who expected to gather for the beginning of the Jewish New Year were told not to approach their community center because security officials believed the situation could become dangerous.
The cancellation therefore represents a security consequence of anti-Israel agitation rather than a completed violent attack.
For Jewish communities, that distinction offers little comfort.
A Rosh Hashanah dinner did not need to be physically attacked to be disrupted.
The threat of confrontation was enough to stop it.
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