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Author Topic: Education Forum Goes Off the Rails  (Read 3581 times)

Online Benjamin Cole

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Re: Education Forum Goes Off the Rails
« Reply #35 on: Today at 09:12:31 AM »
LP--

There is no general, or even sparse, dislike of Jews or Israelis in Thailand, where I have lived for 14 years. There are Jewish temples in Bangkok entirely unmolested by Thai nationals.

Many Thai nationals work on Israeli farms (sadly, 34 Thai nationals were massacred on Oct. 7) and in general they appreciate the money and results. Some end up marrying Israelis.

Just as sadly, there are Muslim-Buddhist hostilities due to Islamist separatist-terrorists in Thailand's south.

The Government of Canada advises travelers to exercise a high degree of caution in Thailand, and specifically warns against all travel to the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, and Songkhla due to unpredictable security situations and ongoing separatist insurgent violence. The Canadians are too PC to say "Muslims."

Here is brief description of the situation in Thailand's south:

While earlier attacks were typified by drive-by shootings in which patrolling policemen were shot by gunmen on passing motorcycles, after 2001 they have escalated to well-coordinated attacks on police establishments, with police stations and outposts ambushed by well-armed groups subsequently fleeing with stolen arms and ammunition. Other tactics used to gain publicity from shock and horror are slashing to death Buddhist monks, bombing temples, beheadings, intimidating pork vendors and their customers, as well as arson attacks on schools, killing the teachers —mostly female— and burning their bodies.[63] In rare cases, Pattani guerrilla groups had also threatened Thai Christians.[64] --Wikipedia

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Muslim terrorist attacks in Thailand are primarily driven by a localized, ethnonationalist and separatist insurgency in the country's southernmost region. Concentrated in the Deep South provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, and parts of Songkhla, the conflict has resulted in over 7,000 casualties since it reignited in 2004.---Asia Foundation

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Thailand is a nation of 60 million. The 7,000 casualties would be about equal to 40,000 casualties from terror attacks in the US.  Yes, Thais have bigger things to worry about than a few misbehaving Israeli tourists.

Even so, despite decades of Muslim terror, most Thais seem to regard Muslims evenly anywhere outside of the south, and I have never seen an incident of anti-Muslim behavior.

Israelis are frequent visitors to Thailand, and are regarded little differently from other European or Middle East visitors.