Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka – The solar hung low over the Indian Ocean, casting an amber glow on the waves as a heated argument erupted in Arugam Bay, a well-liked seaside in jap Sri Lanka.
Within the water, a bunch of native surfers had been engaged in a dispute with Israeli vacationers that kicked off over surf etiquette – or moderately, from the angle of the Sri Lankans, an absence of it.
Jeevan Corridor, an internationally acclaimed Sri Lankan surfer, was within the lineup of the surf when he encountered an Israeli vacationer repeatedly taking waves with out leaving any for others. Pissed off, Corridor approached the vacationer – an off-duty soldier of the Israeli military – and requested him to respect the browsing code of conduct and share the waves.
What began as an innocuous request rapidly escalated right into a tiff. Two of the soldier’s mates, additionally Israeli troopers on a break, joined in. The three began paddling round him within the water, hurling insults in Hebrew.
Different surfers rushed to assist Corridor, solely to be met with accusations from the Israelis: “You solely have points with us due to the battle.”
Corridor knew the troopers had been referring to Israel’s battle on Gaza. He rapidly clarified that his frustration had nothing to do with politics however with the soldier’s blatant disregard for surf manners.
“This can be a quite common factor that occurs in Arugam Bay,” Corridor later advised Al Jazeera.
However there’s a purpose why the Israeli troopers referred to the battle that’s on a tenuous pause for the second due to a ceasefire. In Sri Lanka, as in lots of different components of the world, they’re not as welcome as earlier than.
Hassle in paradise
For many years, Sri Lanka has been a haven for worldwide vacationers looking for its pristine seashores, world-class surf, and a slice of tropical paradise – all at a comparatively lesser price than comparable websites in different components of the world.
Among the many guests, younger Israeli vacationers have carved out a notable presence, notably the reservists – Israelis who’ve come overseas’s obligatory navy service.
In 2022, 9,000 Israeli nationals entered Sri Lanka, with the determine growing by 1,000 the subsequent 12 months, in accordance with native authorities.
In 2024, nonetheless, as Israel’s navy marketing campaign in Gaza turned into a genocide, the variety of Israeli guests to Sri Lanka doubled with an estimated 20,000 coming into the South Asian island.
Shiro Jeyawadne, a Sri Lankan who strikes between the east and south surf season annually, working in eating places and bars alongside the coast, mentioned she believes Israelis are vacationing in higher numbers in Sri Lanka as a solution to “recover from” the battle they participated in.
“They don’t appear to care that there’s rigidity between the broader neighborhood with them being right here, their minds are elsewhere,” she advised Al Jazeera.
Within the island’s vacationer cities resembling Arugam Bay, the sight of enterprise indicators in Hebrew is regular, highlighting the enclaves of Israeli reservists who typically keep for months on finish. A minimum of 100 Israelis have settled within the city, which has a complete inhabitants of fewer than 4,000.
“I by no means must know if my mates will probably be there. Once I come to Sri Lanka, I do know there will probably be different Israelis I can spend my journey with,” Tel Aviv-based T Oko advised Al Jazeera.
For years, the relations between the native residents and Israeli guests had been cordial because the inflow contributed to a tourism-dependent Sri Lankan financial system.
However cracks on this dynamic at the moment are seen.
A number of coastal vacationer locations – together with Indonesia in 2018 and the Maldives in 2024 – banned Israeli passport holders from coming into their nations. In December, Australia denied the entry of two Israeli troopers who had served in Gaza.
In Sri Lanka, some imagine that following go well with would result in an inflow of “extra ethically-minded” vacationers who’re in any other case hesitant to go to as a result of dominance of Israeli reservists on the island’s seashores.
“The vibe could be completely different, the shoreline tradition could be extra related,” Jack Campbell, a long-term resident initially from Australia, advised Al Jazeera.
“It’s a snowball impact as a result of they exist with a bunch mentality. I don’t really feel protected for my household right here,” he mentioned, referring particularly to Israeli troopers who’ve been flagged as suspected battle criminals.
‘Warfare criminals’ on vacation
Gaza battle crimes allegations and unlawful companies run by Israelis have prompted widespread anger and resentment amongst native communities in Sri Lanka. Whereas a fragile ceasefire has been in place in Gaza since January, fears that the battle is much from over are pervasive, worsened by provocative statements from leaders in Israel and its main global supporter, the US.
It’s unlawful to work on a vacationer visa in Sri Lanka. But, from hospitality and accommodations to nightlife and wellness studios, unlicensed Israeli companies have mushroomed throughout the island. At the moment, there are greater than 50 Israeli vacationer ventures on the island – a lot of them owned by earlier or present reservists with the assistance of corrupt officers, and infrequently sidelining native companies.
“We’re cognisant that Sri Lankan staff in vacationer hotspots want the revenue and understand they’re gaining revenue from Israeli companies and vacationers,” Serena Burgess, a Colombo-based activist concerned within the island’s pro-Palestine actions, advised Al Jazeera.
“From what we are able to collect, numerous these companies are sending income to Israel by bank card transactions,” she mentioned.
Sri Lankan activists organise campaigns to tell individuals of the Israel-Palestine battle, and the extent of Israeli atrocities in Gaza and the remainder of the Palestinian territory.
Activists additionally work in direction of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) motion in Sri Lanka, distributing lists of Israel-linked firms and organisations to individuals. Most of those activists requested anonymity attributable to safety issues.
Over the previous six months, at the very least three incidents of bodily violence by Israeli nationals have been reported by the locals, with police investigating them. In every incident, Israeli vacationers bodily attacked locals on the south coast who had been recognized to be vocally pro-Palestinian.
Final December in Ahangama, a well-liked vacation spot for younger travellers, Israeli vacationers approached an area household recognized for his or her work in Sri Lanka’s anti-Zionist motion, bodily attacking and vandalising their property.
The identical month, Hind Rajab Basis (HRF), a Palestinian advocacy group, discovered that Israeli soldier Gal Ferenbook was holidaying in Colombo. The Belgium-based basis is called after the six-year-old Palestinian lady killed by Israeli troopers alongside together with her household inside a automobile in Gaza. Since its formation final summer season, HRF has pulled collectively legal professionals and activists from all over the world to arrange instances in opposition to Israeli troopers based mostly on social media posts by the troopers themselves, boasting of what they did within the battle.
The HRF issued an announcement, urging the Sri Lankan authorities to arrest Ferenbook, who had posted a video on social media wherein he was seen holding the physique of a Palestinian over his tank, like a trophy. As quickly because the request was raised, the Israeli soldier fled Sri Lanka in December 2024, reportedly with the assistance of native Israeli officers.
“It’s completely not regular for these guys who simply shot a child within the head, who raped and murdered, to get on a aircraft and are available right here to relax on the seaside,” Egyptian activist Zein Rahma advised Al Jazeera final month whereas holidaying in southern Sri Lanka, the place she realised she was sharing the seaside with Israeli troopers who had returned from Gaza.
Rahma mentioned she made it her mission to report the presence of Israeli troopers in Sri Lanka’s vacationer cities. “That is not an area concern, it’s a world one,” she mentioned.
Sri Lanka just isn’t a signatory to the Worldwide Legal Courtroom’s (ICC) 2002 Rome Statute which prosecutes people for battle crimes. Nevertheless, the island nation signed the Geneva Conference in 1949, which states that battle crimes are a violation of humanitarian legislation.
“The worldwide legislation and human rights requirements are very clear. If there may be proof of worldwide crimes, that must be investigated and people held accountable,” Sri Lankan human rights lawyer Bhavani Fonseka advised Al Jazeera.
“It’s a query to pose to the brand new NPP authorities,” she mentioned, referring to the governing Nationwide Folks’s Energy alliance, headed by Marxist-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, which stormed to energy in September final 12 months.
Sri Lankan authorities have confronted the query of whose aspect they’re on a number of instances because the battle on Gaza started in 2023. Whereas Sri Lanka, very similar to the worldwide neighborhood, has voted in opposition to the battle on the United Nations, the island can also be struggling to return out of a historic financial disaster that noticed the toppling of a authorities in 2021 and a subsequent financial bailout from lenders just like the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF).
The file monetary meltdown additionally prompted an unemployment disaster in Sri Lanka. At present, 4.7 p.c of Sri Lankans are unemployed.
In response to the island’s labour drive statistics, in September 2024, the speed was 4.1 p.c, prompting the federal government to ship practically 20,000 residents to work in Israel’s farming and building sectors to make up for the scarcity of Palestinian staff as a result of battle in Gaza. Many of those Sri Lankan staff stay in Israel right this moment.
In the meantime, activists like Burgess are attempting to coach the locals on why looking for employment in Israel is “notably unethical”. However with very restricted financial assets domestically, it’s unclear whether or not these calls will truly stem the circulation of Sri Lankan staff headed to Israel.
Safety for whom?
In October final 12 months, the US, the UK, Australian and Russian embassies in Sri Lanka issued now withdrawn advisories, asking their residents to keep away from travelling to Arugam Bay, a Muslim-majority city, over threats to Israeli troopers residing or holidaying there.
The alleged risk led to the deployment of Sri Lankan troopers, helicopters and tanks on the seaside, ending the east coast’s surf season abruptly and leaving the locals confounded. Jeyawadane, an area, claims there have been fewer than 10 Israelis in Arugam Bay when the advisory by the Western nations was issued and there was no apparent bodily risk to anybody. Because the season had begun on the southern coast, many Israeli vacationers had as an alternative made their approach down there.
However the Sri Lankan authorities escalated its response to the perceived risk, dispersing safety personnel all through the nation’s vacationer cities and arresting three individuals, together with a Sri Lankan nationwide residing and dealing in Iraq. Vijitha Herath, minister of public safety and international affairs, mentioned the suspects had been taken into custody.
“The bay virtually emptied in a single day,” Corridor advised Al Jazeera. His household has run an iconic lodge in Arugam Bay for over a decade.
Together with virtually the entire different accommodations in Arugam Bay, the lodge obtained cancellations for weeks from vacationers visiting from all over the world, even after the advisory was withdrawn. The place as soon as Arugam Bay was a hotspot for Israeli vacationers, a synagogue and Shabbat centre working in its again streets 5 years in the past, now the streets had been empty.
A month later, in November, Sri Lankan forces secured Chabad Home, a Jewish centre constructed by Israeli nationals in Colombo, whereas orders got to reinforce safety at accommodations frequented by Israeli nationals.
The deployment of troopers for the safety of Chabad Home angered many Sri Lankans, who claimed it was illegally constructed, and not using a necessary authorities allow.
When Member of Parliament Mujibur Rahman questioned Prime Minister Harani Amarasuriya on it in parliament in December 2024, Amarasuriya acknowledged that the Chabad Home and different such centres, together with in Arugam Bay, had been working with out permission. In response to Rahman, the development started with the permission of the earlier, now-ousted authorities.
Now, even with a brand new authorities in place, these admittedly unlawful buildings are being protected by Sri Lankan defence forces, complained Rahman. As of February 2025, police had been nonetheless seen guarding the Colombo Chabad Home’s entrance. “We’re struggling to know who’s behind this,” he advised Al Jazeera.
He additionally alleged that the federal government was conscious of the presence of potential Israeli battle criminals in Sri Lanka. “The issue is, there are not any methods for prior screening [of soldiers],” he mentioned.
Many Sri Lankans, together with Jeyawadane, say the nation’s decades-old strategic ties with Israel could have prompted the safety of the Jewish centres. “It is smart that our defence drive remains to be in cahoots with theirs – Israel did promote us weapons throughout our battle,” Jeyawadane defined to Al Jazeera.
Throughout Sri Lanka’s 30-year-long civil battle with Tamil rebels combating for a separate homeland for the ethnic minority neighborhood, Israel provided weapons and coaching to the Sri Lankan navy. The civil battle led to 2009. However that relationship, critics say, was additional nurtured by the highly effective Rajapaksa household that dominated the island’s politics between 2005 and 2021, after which they had been overthrown following a well-liked motion.
Paradoxically, the Rajapaksa brothers, particularly former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, have themselves confronted accusations of committing and overseeing battle crimes throughout the civil battle.
The NPP was voted to energy final 12 months by Sri Lankans fed up with years of corruption and so they demanded accountability and punishment for these they believed had been responsible. Lots of these individuals at the moment are enraged by suspected Israeli battle criminals holidaying of their nation.
“No extra excuses. No extra silence. It’s time we began to take again management,” mentioned Burgess.
