In Arugam Bay, a sunny coastal town in Sri Lanka known for its pristine beaches, a Palestinian solidarity movement has emerged. The movement is condemning Hebrew welcome signs and Israeli tourists, showing vehement antipathy toward Jews. This sentiment is based on the allegation that Israelis are trying to monopolize Arugam Bay and turn it into a miniature "Zionist colony".

On the surface, this allegation is driven by resentment from the island's Muslim community following the events of October 7, 2023. Previously, the local Muslim community in Arugam Bay had welcomed Jewish visitors, even leasing properties for the construction of a Chabad House, a religious center administered by the Orthodox Jewish movement Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism.

The events in Arugam Bay expose only the tip of the iceberg, revealing a worrying trend in sections of Sri Lankan society of targeting Israeli tourists and manipulating public opinion to boycott everything related to Israel.

A One-sided Narrative?

Historically, the Jewish presence in Sri Lanka has been extremely minimal, if not nonexistent. The small number of Jews who did reside in Sri Lanka were largely associated with the colonial occupations by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. This minimal presence did not accelerate anti-Semitism in the past, as most Sri Lankans were generally less knowledgeable about the racial prejudices that existed against Jewish communities in Europe.

The current situation in Sri Lanka, however, is a stark illustration of explicit anti-Semitism. It encourages people to boycott Israeli products, ostracize Israeli tourists, and participate in similar actions. Most activists involved in these solidarity movements remain adamant in not admitting that the current situation in Gaza was triggered by the gruesome events of October 7. Their reluctance is even more evident when they ferociously deny discussing Israel’s right to return its hostages from Hamas captivity. They also do not tolerate dissent that attempts to explain the full situation in Gaza or how Hamas has hindered any possible avenue for a ceasefire agreement. Overall, the solidarity movement in Sri Lanka propagates a one-sided narrative, spreading seeds of hatred without acknowledging the long-standing causes of the turmoil in the Middle East.

Incidents related to anti-Semitism in Sri Lanka have seen a robust rise parallel to protests led by the Palestinian solidarity movement, which is a clear indicator of how cancel culture functions. Most recently, activists from the Palestinian solidarity movement protested in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demanding that the visa-free entry for Israelis be revoked on grounds of genocide and crimes against humanity. The absurdity of this demand is that none of these protest movements have explained why the entire Israeli nation deserves to be punished for the military actions of the IDF. Their position appears even more irrational given that not a single protestor has uttered a word about Russian visitors coming to Sri Lanka or Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Government Silence Intriguing

Meanwhile, the government in Colombo finds itself in a difficult position, refraining from disclosing its official stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—a well-established policy of the Sri Lankan government for years. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa vociferously campaigned for Palestinian statehood while discreetly seeking military support from Israel to crush LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka. The current Sri Lankan government maintains the same ambiguity. This apathy to state its position is connected to the economic benefits the government anticipates by sending Sri Lankan laborers to replace Palestinian workers in Israel while simultaneously harboring anti-Semitic sentiments on the island.

The outrage directed at Israeli tourists has mainly derived from Sri Lanka's Muslim community, driven by an emotional affinity with Palestinians that resembles the Islamic doctrine of "Ummah." Their narratives are filled with bigotry, portraying Israeli visitors as colonizers attempting to seize land in Sri Lanka. The majority of Muslim activists on the island tend to frame visits by Israeli tourists in a way that generates animosity toward every Israeli, which is by all means a manifestation of anti-Semitism. Yet, many of these Muslim critics expressing views against Israeli tourists in Arugam Bay or elsewhere in Sri Lanka hardly admit that their actions explicitly embody anti-Semitism, instead projecting the very roots of anti-Semitism as a solely European issue.

The silence maintained by the government and the mavericks in Sri Lankan society is a dangerous sign. It has the potential to radicalize certain fractions within the Muslim community. The continuity of anti-Semitic rhetoric, buttressed by denying the other side of the story, paves the way for the spread of Islamic radicalism, which could even transform into a breeding ground for terrorism or a shadowy network for foreign agents.

(The author is a post-doctoral researcher affiliated with the Institute of Law, Politics and Development at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at punsaraprint10@gmail.com.)