HOW MUCH ANTI-SEMITISM IS TOO MUCH ANTI-SEMITISM?

Recently, there has been a growing sense of ill will in the local social media posts and newspaper articles towards Israeli tourists in the country. Whether this is a popular sentiment or amplified by a minority is open to question.

- By Ranga Jayasuriya

However, some of the allegations made there are valid, some need government scrutiny, and others are exaggerated.

In a major grievance, it was alleged that Israelis have monopolised Arugambay, displaced locals and turned it into a miniature Zionist colony. This is a highly emotive allegation, but we have been there before. It was not long ago that we were told by the foreign press and self-interested local pundits that Hambantota has been turned into a Chinese colony, which it was not, and that Buddhist temples are colonising the Tamil homeland, which was also not the case. However, these propped-up grievances, including the latest one, serve a different political purpose.

Second, it is alleged, the Israelis, the Russians, and Ukrainians run businesses and eat into the income of local tourist operators. This is a valid grievance, though this is not a problem unique to Sri Lanka. The relevant national and local authorities should address these concerns so that the locals have a level playing field in their business, and tourists who come for holidaying do not engage in business. Shrouded in this controversy is a far more important concern that a vast swathe of the tourism industry, mainly owned by the locals themselves, is operating in a grey economy. The government should bring them to the open, regulate them, and ensure they comply with local labour regulations and pay taxes.