Israeli Government Raises Travel Threat Level for Thailand

Photo Credit: Erik Karits / Pixabay

Phuket, Thailand, a popular destination for Israeli tourists.

Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) has raised the travel threat level for Thailand to Level 2, a level at which a previous alert was released about two weeks ago.

The move comes in the wake of last week’s vicious murder of a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in the United Arab Emirates.

On November 12, 2024, the National Security Council called on Israelis currently in Thailand to “increase their awareness and pay attention to updates” from the NSC due to emerging potential threat to Israelis in the country.

Roughly two weeks later, in light of the continued threats, the NSC has raised the travel threat level to Level 2 and is recommending Israelis exercise increased caution.

“While the threat has not worsened, the NSC is publicly updating its recommendations until further notice for Israelis visiting the country,” the alert read.

The following are the NSC’s recommendations for those staying in Thailand:
1. Avoid attending large events identified with Israel, especially those publicized in advance, as well as places of entertainment and leisure identified with Israel.
2. Inform local security forces if you have experienced or witnessed hostile activity towards Israelis/Jews.
3. Conceal anything that could identify you as Israeli/Jewish.
4. Avoid updating your location and travel plans on social media.
5. Avoid discussing military service/reserve duty, discussing the security situation in Israel and posting related content on social media.
These guidelines are valid for the entire country and not any specific regions. To be clear, this change does not affect the existing high threat level for travel to Thailand’s southern areas (Level 4).

Thailand is a particularly attractive destination for Israeli tourists, and is one of several de rigeur places in the world — along with India and South America — where young Israeli veterans travel following completion of their mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces.

There is a strong Chabad-Lubavitch presence in Thailand, with several emissaries based around the country to welcome the young Israelis and other Jewish tourists.

Israel and Thailand established formal diplomatic relations in 1954. Over the years, diplomatic relations between the two countries have flourished in various areas including political and economic relations, people-to-people contacts, agriculture, innovation, education, medicine and culture.

Most recently, in 2022 Israel and Thailand signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cyber Security Cooperation.