(Photo credit: Gil Eliahu)The Cradle
SEP 16, 2026
Locals in Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Thailand object to their countries playing host to troops from an army carrying out a genocide
Residents across South and Southeast Asian countries are pushing back against Israeli soldiers and veterans vacationing in their countries, using confrontations, street protests, and legal complaints to object to hosting members of an army carrying out Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported on 16 September.
The backlash stretches across Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Thailand, which are all favored destinations for Israeli troops who take their army discharge payments and head abroad on extended tours as part of a post-service travel ritual known in Hebrew as Tiul Gadol.
In Thailand, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul this month ordered the expulsion of an Israeli man found guilty of making threats against a zoo owner after the zoo put a Palestinian flag on show.
The man is the first foreign national to face an expulsion order under the country’s new deportation regulations.
Hundreds also rallied outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok, where organizers accused Israeli tourists of flouting Thai law, disturbing public order, and disrespecting local traditions.
Despite the local backlash, Israeli visitor numbers are still climbing, reaching more than 277,000 between January and August, roughly seven percent higher than the same period a year earlier, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
In Indonesia, Bali gym owner Samir Shafiq told Anadolu he threw three Israeli tourists off his premises in mid-August after they used obscenities in an argument with an Indonesian employee and one admitted to serving in the Israeli army.
In early June 2026, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) urged Indian authorities to arrest Israeli soldier Eitan Gilboa, accusing him of taking part in the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza.
Mumbai-based political activist Prashant Pundir told Anadolu that Hebrew-speaking cafes, hotels, and Chabad houses have sprung up to cater to Israeli backpackers along the route they dub the Hummus Trail.
On the Philippine island of Siargao, advocate Rich Tuason told Anadolu that frustrated residents fear being branded antisemitic if they speak openly, and that complaints over trespassing and property damage are hard to pursue because “the suspects just fly out.”
“If you serve the IDF, and we all know and have seen these past few years what they did and what they are still doing, yeah, you’re not allowed to come,” Shafiq said.
“I don’t care if you’re Jewish, you’re Muslim, you’re Hindu, you’re atheist,” said Shafiq, who has since faced attempts to brand him antisemitic. “But if you serve the IDF, and we all know and have seen these past few years what they did and what they are still doing, yeah, you’re not allowed to come. You can call me a racist or whatever, I’m okay with it.”
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