After the expulsion of Israelis from a zoo in Koh Samui: The Israeli who was fined - and the manhunt that continues
Israelis reported that they were not allowed to enter a Thai zoo and were violently attacked; the owner claimed she decided not to admit Israelis due to their behavior in previous cases. In Thailand, it was reported that "Yaakov" was fined 5,000 baht after threatening the owner, and a person suspected of offering a reward for harming her has not yet been located.
A week after Israelis were expelled from a zoo in Koh Samui and reported that they were violently attacked, Thai authorities fined an Israeli for threatening the zoo owners. An Israeli named "Yaakov" was fined 5,000 baht (about 450 shekels) after police said he threatened the owner of Samui Exotic Park, Jindrat Satayapon. Police continue to search for another person who is suspected of offering a reward of 500,000 baht (45,000 shekels) for harming the same woman.
The affair began after an Israeli family claimed they were not allowed to enter the zoo on August 12 and that the owner of the place, a French citizen, violently attacked the father of the family. Afterwards, the zoo owners claimed they were receiving death threats. Following the threats, a police checkpoint was set up near the place on August 15, and the Israeli was arrested.
The zoo owner claimed she decided not to admit Israelis following previous cases in which, according to her, Israeli visitors refused to pay, took food from other visitors' bags, and even sprayed milk on the faces of pigs. According to her, one of the Israeli visitors even demanded that she close the place and leave the island.
At the same time, authorities are investigating a separate affair related to the French owner of the park and his Thai wife, following posts on the web and signs placed at the entrance to the place, including a Palestinian flag with the inscription "Free Palestine," alongside an Israeli flag and signs that were perceived as offensive to Israelis. In a video uploaded to the web, a sign is seen with an Israeli flag and a "no entry" symbol, and next to it, a figure of a shooting target. The authorities stated that they are checking the claims and the facts before determining whether a crime was committed. The Ministry of Interior emphasized that legal and security protection in Koh Samui will be provided equally to all nationalities.
According to a page on the X network that deals with pursuing antisemites, the zoo owner is a Frenchman from the city of Villeurbanne. In the past, he called Jews a "dirty race" and called on them to avoid coming to his business. He called his employees "Team Khomeini." According to the same page, he also physically attacked Jewish families from Israel and France in the past who arrived at the place. In his Instagram account, a response to criticism appeared in the past in which it was explicitly written: "YES NO ISRAEL IN MY PARK IS CLEAR LIKE THAT" - meaning entry for Israelis is prohibited. In the continuation of that same response, he claimed, despite the evidence against him, that the policy stems from the behavior of Israelis who visited the place in the past, and not from a political motive.
