BANGKOK, Thailand – Public frustration over alleged misconduct by Israeli visitors is escalating across Thailand, with a new NIDA Poll finding that 77.49 per cent of respondents who had heard reports or claimed direct experience of inappropriate or illegal behaviour by Israelis in Thailand want authorities to strictly enforce Thai law. Among the same group, 71.22 per cent cited a perceived lack of respect for Thai law, while 45.45 per cent said Thailand should shorten the permitted length of stay for Israelis and 38.49 per cent wanted the Israeli Embassy to more closely supervise its nationals’ behaviour.

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The poll, however, comes with important caveats, as only 5.11 per cent of the full sample said they had direct personal experience while most had heard reports through the media, and NIDA surveyed people in only six provinces, meaning the results are not nationally representative. The findings nevertheless underscore a growing undercurrent of public concern that has manifested in recent weeks through protests and calls for tighter scrutiny of foreign visitors.

The poll comes amid growing scrutiny of Israeli tourists in Thailand and follows two protests outside the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok within a week, including a demonstration led by activist Sondhi Limthongkul and the Reclaim Thailand group calling for closer checks on foreigners accused of ignoring Thai laws and customs.

The survey results add to pressure on authorities to address public sentiment while balancing Thailand’s traditional reputation for hospitality and its reliance on tourism revenue, particularly from the Israeli market which has grown significantly in recent years.

On the other hand, the Interior Ministry has expanded its investigation into Gan Chabad Co., Ltd. from a Jewish cemetery in Chachoengsao to land holdings, company structures and possible nominee arrangements involving dozens of linked businesses. The inquiry began at a cemetery in Samet Tai subdistrict, Bang Khla district, and now involves the Commerce Ministry, Department of Special Investigation and Anti-Money Laundering Office, though no finding of wrongdoing has been made against Gan Chabad, its directors or Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor.

Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee visited the cemetery on 11 September, where officials confirmed that the land was bought by Gan Chabad, which was licensed to operate the site when it opened about four to five years ago. The licence was not renewed, although burials reportedly continued afterwards, and authorities are examining whether that amounted to a legal breach. Polapee said three shareholders connected to the cemetery were born in Israel but later gained Thai citizenship, and as Thai citizens they were legally entitled to own land.

The wider case has attracted public attention during debate over some Israeli and Jewish community activities in Thailand, including opposition to a planned Jewish New Year event at Chabad Patong in Phuket, while activist Sondhi Limthongkul and the Reclaim Thailand group demonstrated outside the Israeli Embassy, calling for closer checks on foreigners accused of ignoring Thai laws and customs. Gan Chabad was registered in March 2008 with capital of 30 million baht, and its stated business purposes include cemetery and crematorium services and property management.

According to a senior Interior Ministry source, the network linked to its directors may reach 40 companies, with combined turnover said to exceed 4 billion baht. The businesses reportedly include The Kosher Place (Thailand) Co., Ltd., tourism firms serving Israeli visitors, and businesses helping people travelling to Thailand for rehabilitation after illness or conflict-related experiences. Investigators are seeking to establish whether the companies were legally formed and whether Thai nationals may have been used as nominees for foreign investors, with Gan Chabad’s three authorised directors holding Thai citizenship, making it a Thai legal entity, while nominee concerns are being considered separately in relation to other firms.

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Kantor, a Gan Chabad founder and senior Chabad rabbi, has lived in Thailand since 1993, and he and family members later received Thai citizenship, reportedly because of long residence and contributions to Thailand rather than marriage to Thai nationals, with one of his sons reportedly a Gan Chabad director. A Nation TV programme raised questions about the basis for those approvals, noting that the Nationality Act generally requires 80,000 baht monthly income, three years of tax records, permanent residence and five consecutive years on a Thai house register, although exceptions can apply.

-Thailand News (TN)