Old image misrepresented as 'Israeli settlers' in northern Thailand after Gaza ceasefire

Amid a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, social media users have misrepresented a photo of a Rosh Hashanah celebration to falsely claim more than 30,000 Israeli settlers recently moved to northern Thailand, stoking anti-Israel sentiment in the kingdom. But the picture was published months before the deal was announced, and the posts falsely conflate local tourist and resident figures.

"Israeli media reports there are Jews who have stopped fighting the wars in Gaza, Palestine, and Lebanon. They moved to become 'settlers' in Pai District, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand," reads part of an X post published February 16, 2025.

"With the Jewish Association building supporting infrastructure such as a synagogue, prohibiting Thai people from entering. The new promised land is in Thailand."

The Thai-language post shares an image of people at dining tables wearing white clothing and blue yarmulkes. It has been reposted more than 11,000 times.

The same claim also spread on the Thai social media platform Blockdit, with posts saying "over 30,000 Israelis have settled in Pai with support from the Chabad, a Jewish organization with global influence."

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Screenshots of the misleading posts taken February 17, 2025

Pai is a small district in the northern province of Mae Hong Son, popular for its cultural identity and natural landscape (archived link).

In early February, four Israeli tourists were deported from the town after allegedly vandalizing a hospital and verbally abusing its medical staff, prompting local businesses to refuse service to Israeli tourists (archived links here and here).

Identical claims, which play into anti-Israeli sentiment in Thailand, have spread elsewhere on social media.

However, the photo was taken months before the Gaza ceasefire -- and Thai officials say the number of Israeli residents cited in the posts is inaccurate.

Picture from Rosh Hashanah event

A reverse image search via Google traced the viral photo to a report published October 2, 2024 by the Mae Hong Son Immigration Office (archived link).

The photo was taken during an inspection at an event celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, at a synagogue in Pai.

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Screenshot comparison between the misleading post (L) and the original image from the Mae Hong Son Immigration Office report

"There were approximately 400-500 Jewish people attending, and the event proceeded normally," the report says.

Local media outlets reported police officers were deployed to the Rosh Hashanah celebrations to "inspect, facilitate and maintain safety" (archived links here and here).

Misrepresented tourist data

The claim that "over 30,000 Israelis settled in Pai" is also inaccurate -- it is based on a misinterpretation of tourist statistics.

A Thai keyword search found Mae Hong Son authorities reported in 2024 that the province recorded 221,776 foreign tourist accommodations. That includes 31,735 from Israel, which sent the second-highest number of tourists to the province after the United Kingdom (archived link).

"The number was misrepresented," a Mae Hong Son Immigration Office official said February 18, 2025 of the claims spreading online. "It actually reflects the number of Israel tourists throughout last year."

He said the figure was calculated by analyzing accommodation bookings, which may include multiple reservations from an individual tourist.

A spokesperson for the provincial governor confirmed to AFP on February 18, 2025 that the number represents Israeli tourists who visited in 2024, not residents.

Governor Ekkawit Meepian also addressed the issue in a televised broadcast, saying Pai's total population is estimated at around 38,000 (archived link).

According to Thailand's statistics registration system, Pai recorded roughly 30,000 Thais and 5,300 "non-Thais" as of January 2025, although it is unclear whether the latter are residents or tourists.