Israeli DJ Says Antisemitic Campaign Shut Down Thailand Festival

Organizers were labeled “child murderers,” accused of attempting to “occupy Pai.”

By United with Israel Staff

A young Israeli DJ and event producer says an international trance festival he helped establish in northern Thailand was effectively shut down following an online hate campaign that targeted the organizers for being Israeli.

Eliad Yehuda Halili, 26, from Petah Tikva, teamed up with creatives from Europe, Thailand, and Australia to launch Loop Festival, an international trance event in Pai, northern Thailand.

The group invested more than 200,000 shekels in the project and said all required permits were secured in coordination with local authorities.

“Our goal was simple,” Halili said. “To create something positive, international, and rooted in a shared love of music.”

The festival’s inaugural event drew hundreds of attendees, including Israelis, tourists, and visitors from around the world, and was widely viewed by organizers as a success. Preparations were already underway for a second event when the situation suddenly changed.

Halili said the trouble began with social media posts calling for a boycott of the festival. What initially appeared to be a marginal online criticism quickly escalated into a coordinated campaign.

Organizers were labeled “child murderers,” accused of attempting to “occupy Pai,” and warned that anyone cooperating with the festival should be shunned.

None of the accusations had any connection to Thailand or to the multinational makeup of the production team, Halili said. “Our team includes Europeans, Australians, and Thai partners. We had no idea where this hatred came from.”

Soon after, physical vandalism followed the online incitement. Posters advertising the festival were burned around town, and promotional materials featuring the artists were destroyed. Local authorities were notified as the situation deteriorated.

Days before the planned event, the festival grounds themselves were vandalized. According to Halili, intruders broke into the site, burned water tanks, stole production equipment, and destroyed infrastructure built over months of work.

“We watched our dream being destroyed,” he said.

Despite the damage, the organizers decided to relocate the event rather than cancel it. After increasing security, the second festival went ahead without major incident. But the relief was short-lived.

Last weekend, the group received notice from local police that the festival’s operations were being shut down immediately. Halili said no clear explanation was provided, despite the fact that all permits had been approved and authorities had previously been kept informed.

The shutdown, he said, left the team facing hundreds of thousands of shekels in losses, much of it personal savings.

Beyond the financial damage, Halili said the fallout has deeply affected local partners as well. Thai collaborators who helped legalize and support the festival have reportedly lost business ties after being associated with Israelis.

“For the average tourist, Thailand is still wonderful,” Halili said. “And the Israeli community here supported us warmly. But trying to build a business is a completely different story. We were hit by a campaign driven by people who don’t even live in Thailand, motivated purely by hatred, and it worked.”

The festival team has since launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover debts and rebuild. Halili said giving up is not an option.

“We won’t surrender to antisemitism,” he said. “If we can’t rebuild here, we’ll do it somewhere else in the world. Music is stronger than hate.”