Popular unrest in two Asian nations put a damper on Jewish holiday celebrations Saturday night and Sunday, forcing the near-cancellation of children’s parade in Kathmandu, Nepal, and leaving synagogues eerily quiet of tourists in Bangkok, Thailand.
In Bangkok, where a six-week demonstration by anti-government forces has brought life to a standstill in the capital’s central business district, Rabbi Yosef C. Kantor said that a Friday-afternoon message to Jewish residents and tourists speaking about the importance of Lag B’Omer celebrations had apparently paid off. About 80 Israeli backpackers turned out for a Saturday night party in honor of the holiday, which marks the passing of the second-century mystical sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Another 80 locals came to a Sunday afternoon bash, said Kantor.
“We had a normal turnout,” reported Kantor, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Thailand and the Beth Elisheva Synagogue, Mikveh and Jewish Center. “That’s a big deal, because on the whole, Israeli tourism is down considerably.”
In his Friday message to supporters, the rabbi urged people to pray for stability in the country.
“As residents in this country, we need to do our bit to bring peace to this country,” he wrote. “The most effective way for us to do that is by praying and doing good deeds to add to the spiritual peace.”
The statement followed an April 21 announcement from the Israeli Foreign Ministry that it was upgrading its travel warning to Thailand and recommending against any visit to Bangkok.
On Sunday, the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told foreign journalists that he was moving to clear the capital of protesters, who established a tent city in the government compound. An earlier move against the protesters resulted in 18 deaths.
“We are sending a clear signal that we have given people enough time to leave,” the prime minister said, according to The Associated Press. “We are now in the process of sealing off and cutting off support before we actually move in.”
At the Jewish Center, Kantor said that he was concerned that “things may get worse before they get better.”
“The big issue is stability,” said the rabbi. “That’s what we’re praying for: a peaceful solution.”
General Strike in Nepal
More than 1,300 miles away in the Nepalese capital, Rabbi Chezky Lifshitz said that an opposition Maoist-enforced general strike had severely impacted programs at his Chabad House. Plans for a large children’s parade in honor of Lag B’Omer Sunday morning had to be scrapped, but Lifshitz took his own children on a mini-parade around the block.
Still, despite the closure of streets and the forbidding of car travel in Kathmandu, Lifshitz’ Lag B’Omer party Saturday night was well-attended.
“We had more than 200 people,” he said. “A lot of them were Israeli backpackers who travel through here every year.”
According to Lifshitz, similar protests have occurred regularly over the past couple of years.
“Every time there’s a strike, our programs are affected. You can’t travel,” he said. “We hope that it will end soon.”
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