The increasing number of Israeli tourists in Mae Hong Son's Pai district is causing concern among local residents, especially in light of a string of recent incidents involving Israeli nationals in the past couple of weeks.
One incident saw four Israelis break into and vandalise Pai Hospital's emergency room. As a result of their actions, the four were fined 3,000 baht each, had their tourist visas revoked and subsequently deported to Israel.
More recently, two Israelis were arrested for working without a permit as singers at a local restaurant, adding to concerns among local residents about foreign tourists illegally taking up jobs in the popular tourist destination.
Pol Lt Col Wichai Panna, an inspector with the immigration police, said the two Israeli tourists are currently in police custody pending a deportation order by the Immigration Bureau commissioner.
They will be transferred to Bangkok to be deported once the order is signed, he said.
Pai has become a magnet for Israeli tourists, with some reports suggesting there could be as many as 30,000 Israelis living in the area — easily outnumbering the town's 21,000 local residents.
According to reports, a number of businesses in the town, including several motorcycle riding schools, are illegally operated by Israeli citizens.
There were also concerns about a newly built synagogue in Pai district, which several residents allege is often used to host parties involving a large number of people.
Following the complaints, police officers were dispatched to inspect the synagogue, which is located right behind Pai police station on Feb 11. They found no evidence of illegal activities or major gatherings at the location.
Despite the search yielding no evidence of wrongdoing, Nanthiwat Samart, former deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency, took to his Facebook account to urge the government to pay attention to local residents' concerns.
In the post, he stressed the growing number of Israeli tourists "is not the issue, but the concerns of local residents are".
He urged the Interior Ministry and security agencies to look into the complaints and take appropriate action to address local residents' concerns when necessary.
In light of these concerns, on Feb 11, Orna Sagiv, the Israeli ambassador to Thailand, said she regretted the behaviour of some Israeli tourists and would personally travel to Pai to meet with officials, local business owners, and members of the Israeli community there.
She said all tourists must respect the law. "I hope it won't reflect negatively on other [Israelis in Thailand]," she said.
According to the ambassador, over 280,000 Israelis visited Thailand last year.
