Why I Don’t Believe This Protest Is About Gaza

I do not believe the protest against Israel is about Gaza at all.

Gaza was added to broaden the movement’s appeal and give a human-rights cover to a campaign driven by nationalism and domestic Thai politics.

The leaders’ records make that clear.

Former yellow-shirt leader Sondhi Limthongkul was joined by former People’s Alliance for Democracy spokesman Panthep Puapongpan, lawyer and former PAD leader Nitithorn “Nok Khao” Lamluea, and Network of Students and People for Reform of Thailand leader Pichit Chaimongkol. These are veteran figures from Thailand’s yellow-shirt, anti-Thaksin and hardline royalist protest movement.

There is no public record of these leaders organising sustained campaigns for Palestinian rights before this protest. They did not mobilise when Hamas killed more than 40 Thais during the October 2023 attack or when Iran killed three Thai sailors. Gaza appeared only when the demands against Israel were announced. Even then, it came after complaints about Israeli tourists, criminal prosecutions, Chabad centres and landholdings.

Their political history is overwhelmingly domestic.

Their campaigns have targeted Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s hospital stay and parole, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, proposed changes involving the monarchy and governments they accused of compromising Thai sovereignty. They have also mobilised alongside other royalist groups and supported the military during tensions with Cambodia.

Sondhi’s rhetoric before the protest followed the same pattern.

He launched the “Take Back Our Thailand” campaign by discussing alleged misconduct by Israeli tourists, foreign land ownership, Chabad centres and nominee businesses. He also attacked the Anutin government over the Senate collusion investigation, Khao Kradong, local examination fraud, data centres, alleged oil hoarding and territorial issues involving Cambodia. He warned of a broader protest if the Election Commission cleared or limited the cases against the 229 Senate collusion suspects.

Israel is not his only target.

Sondhi announced that alleged Chinese grey businesses in Chon Buri would be next and also invoked Cambodian, Myanmar, Indian and Russian interests in his broader warnings about foreign influence. This is not a focused campaign against Israeli policy. It is a wider nationalist movement.

The language used to launch it must also be condemned.

At his September 7 press conference, Sondhi said his planned statement would hurt “Jews” as well as Israel and described Israel as a country detested around the world. By repeatedly using “Jews” while discussing the Israeli state, Israeli tourists and suspected offenders, he blurred the distinction between a government, a nationality and a global religious and ethnic community.

A “Jews Out” sign displayed at the protest must likewise be condemned without qualification.

Not all Jews are Israelis, not all Israelis are Jewish, and neither group is collectively responsible for the Israeli government’s actions or offences allegedly committed by individuals in Thailand. Criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza is legitimate. Collective hostility towards Jews is antisemitism.

Suspected nominee businesses and illegal land ownership should be investigated regardless of the nationality involved. But foreigners cannot operate nominee companies alone. They require Thai shareholders and may be assisted by lawyers, accountants, officials or other facilitators. The practice persists because enforcement is weak and corruption allows such arrangements to survive.

Turning a structural corruption problem into a campaign against one nationality protects the system that enables it. Gaza provides moral language and foreigners provide convenient targets, but the people leading this protest have spent their political lives fighting domestic battles. That is what this campaign is really about, and its underlying political objectives will become clearer if it gains momentum.

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我完全不认为反对以色列的抗议活动与加沙有关。

将加沙纳入其中，是为了扩大该运动的吸引力，并为一场由民族主义和泰国国内政治驱动的运动披上人权的外衣。

领导人的过往记录清楚地表明了这一点。

前黄衫军领袖颂迪·林通库尔与前人民民主联盟发言人潘贴·普阿蓬潘、律师兼前人民民主联盟领导人尼提通·“诺考”·拉姆鲁阿以及泰国学生和人民改革网络领导人皮奇·猜蒙坤一同出席了活动。他们都是泰国黄衫军、反他信和强硬保皇派抗议运动的资深人物。

没有任何公开记录表明这些领导人在此次抗议之前曾组织过持续的争取巴勒斯坦人权利的运动。2023年10月，哈马斯袭击泰国，造成40多名泰国人死亡；伊朗杀害三名泰国水兵时，他们也没有动员起来。加沙地带的抗议活动直到针对以色列的诉求公布后才出现。即便如此，也是在以色列游客、刑事诉讼、哈巴德中心和土地所有权等问题引发抗议之后才出现的。

他们的政治历史绝大多数是国内的。

他们的行动针对他信和英拉·西那瓦，包括他信的住院和假释、帕通坦·西那瓦，以及他们提出的涉及君主制和政府的改革方案，他们指责这些改革损害了泰国的主权。他们还与其他保皇派团体联合起来，并在与柬埔寨的紧张关系期间支持军方。

桑迪在抗议活动前的言论也遵循了同样的模式。

他发起“夺回我们的泰国”运动，抨击以色列游客涉嫌不当行为、外国土地所有权、哈巴德中心和代持企业等问题。他还就参议院串谋调查、考卡东事件、地方考试舞弊、数据中心、涉嫌囤积石油以及涉及柬埔寨的领土问题抨击了阿努廷政府。他警告说，如果选举委员会撤销或限制对229名参议院串谋嫌疑人的指控，将会发起更大规模的抗议活动。

以色列并非他唯一的目标。

桑迪宣布，春武里府涉嫌的中国灰色企业将是下一个打击目标，并在其关于外国影响力的更广泛警告中，还提及了柬埔寨、缅甸、印度和俄罗斯的利益。这并非一场针对以色列政策的专项行动，而是一场更广泛的民族主义运动。

用于发布该声明的语言也必须受到谴责。

在9月7日的新闻发布会上，桑迪表示，他计划发表的声明不仅会伤害以色列，也会伤害“犹太人”，他还将以色列描述为一个令全世界憎恶的国家。他在谈论以色列国、以色列游客和犯罪嫌疑人时反复使用“犹太人”一词，模糊了政府、民族和全球宗教及族裔群体之间的界限。

抗议活动中出现的“犹太人滚出去”标语也必须毫不含糊地予以谴责。

并非所有犹太人都是以色列人，也并非所有以色列人都是犹太人，这两个群体都无需为以色列政府的行为或据称个人在泰国犯下的罪行承担集体责任。批评以色列在加沙的行为是合理的。对犹太人的集体敌意是反犹主义。

无论涉案人员国籍如何，都应调查涉嫌空壳公司和非法土地所有权的行为。但外国人不能单独经营空壳公司，他们需要泰国股东，并且可能由律师、会计师、官员或其他中间人协助。这种做法之所以屡禁不止，是因为执法不力，腐败使得此类安排得以维系。

将结构性腐败问题转化为针对某一特定民族的运动，实际上是在维护助长腐败的体制。加沙提供了道德说教的口号，外国人则成了方便的攻击目标，但领导这场抗议的人们毕生都在国内斗争。这才是这场运动的真正目的，而其背后的政治目标，如果能够持续发展壮大，将会更加清晰地展现出来。

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