Tensions on the island are escalating: “You are a guest – you cannot disrespect and show aggression”

The current crisis was sparked after an Israeli traveler and influencer recorded herself tearing off a sticker combining the flags of Palestine and the Philippines from the door of a local business, crumpling it and declaring in the video: “You are a proud Israeli and you just can’t keep quiet.” The video spread with lightning speed, provoking a wave of sharp reactions from locals and forcing the tourist to remove the documentation and publish a long clarifying post.

Following the stormy reactions, the Israeli chose to delete the video and published a detailed post in which she explained her motives, while taking responsibility for the damage to the Philippine symbol but refusing to apologize for removing the Palestinian sticker: “About two weeks ago I posted a video in Shirgao, Philippines, which became very viral. In the video I took down a sticker that read ‘We stand by humanity’ with the flag of Palestine and the Philippine flag,” the tourist wrote At the beginning of her words.

“First of all, I want to say clearly that I take full responsibility for hurting the Filipino people by folding their flag in the process. That was never my intention, and I really apologize for that, because we met such beautiful Filipino people here and I really appreciate them very much.” However, she emphasized: “But I don’t apologize for taking down the sticker itself. Because for me, humanity is never one-sided. If something truly represents humanity, then it should contain a place for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Later in the post, she explained that the motive for deleting the video was the fear for the safety of other Israelis on the island: “The reason I deleted the video was not because I was afraid of hateful reactions. It was because Israelis and other Jews approached me and explained that the video creates more tension for the Israeli and Jewish community here in Shirgao. And protecting my people is more important to me than keeping a viral post on the air.” She added that she received “death threats, attacks on my daughters, my family and my identity as a Jewish woman. And this is not a dialogue.”

The original video and the post that followed it provoked a polarized wave of reactions on social media, which reflected the deep tension prevailing on the island in recent times. Many local surfers expressed great outrage at what they perceived as a sovereign and cultural disrespect.

“You came here as a guest, act like one,” read one of the angry comments. “You can’t go into businesses, remove stickers, disrespect the locals and show aggression just because something hurt your personal beliefs. This kind of behavior has no place here. Respect the culture, the people and the businesses, or you will fly out of our country.” Another surfer linked this directly to past events and wrote: “This is exactly the type of mentality that caused the Cartoon Café to be attacked. Israelis need to look at themselves, your political beliefs have become radical.”

Another response read that “The Filipinos who say they stand by humanity because people are dying in Palestine, do not say anything about hating Israel. But by default, your understanding was that any support given to Palestine is hatred towards Israel. When you are blinded by your hatred and pretend to be full of love, what you get in return is what you sowed. Just because you sound sweet, it does not mean that people did not see the malice in your act.”

As mentioned, the video brought up again the tensions that exist on the island and in other parts of the world. “The Israelis are already doing this crap in Thailand, Sri Lanka and other places, setting up businesses ‘for Israelis only’ and undermining the local way of life. They failed to do it in Bali because the government there didn’t let it happen. It’s colonization in the making and it will definitely spread to other provinces if the governments don’t intervene.”

On the other hand, Filipino surfers who support Israel, alongside Jewish surfers, came to her defense and claimed that the social network amplifies anti-Semitic sentiment disproportionately. “As a Filipino Jew, I want to apologize on behalf of those who spread hate online,” wrote one commenter. “It is simply not true that all Filipinos share the hatred of Israel. Social networks have become a platform where anti-Semitism and fake news are amplified and normalized. What you did when you peeled off the Palestinian sticker was completely understandable and justified. The nation of Israel lives!”

The new incident comes at a particularly sensitive time, amid frantic efforts by the Israeli Embassy in the Philippines to curb the crisis that began with the attack on the Cartoon Café. As a reminder, at the beginning of this month, Israeli citizens violently attacked a local husband and wife, vandalized security cameras and caused serious injuries to the husbands’ faces against the background of a Palestinian flag that was placed there.

After the tensions created by the ambassador’s official absence from a previous emergency meeting, Israel’s ambassador to the Philippines, Dana Koresh, together with Consul Moti Cohen, made an official visit to the island and held a comprehensive Zoom conversation with over 70 local business owners in Shirgao. In the conversation, which was designed to strengthen communication and address the community’s concerns about the behavior of tourists, the ambassador emphasized that all visitors are required to respect the laws of the Philippines and the values ​​of the place.

Koresh made it clear unequivocally that the embassy’s consular assistance does not grant immunity from the law: “If they behave inappropriately, arrest them and file charges,” the ambassador told the local leaders, noting that the embassy respects the sovereignty of the Philippines in enforcing its laws. She returned and warned against a generalization against all Israeli tourists, but pledged to act in front of media outlets in Israel to emphasize the importance of responsible behavior, and even planned to hold direct talks with Israeli citizens staying on the island.