“This Is Our Ancestral Market Stall,” Claims Israeli Couple Operating Illegally in Pai
By JOHAN YIVES JOHANOPOLIS, EDITOR-AT-LARGE
PAI, THAILAND — An Israeli artisan couple operating without permits in Pai’s night market has refused to vacate their unauthorized stall, citing not Thai law, but the Book of Deuteronomy.
The pair, identified as 34-year-old Gil Ezra and 31-year-old Liora Bat-Tzion, set up their "ancestral healing space" three months ago without bothering with work permits, rental fees, or the faintest nod toward immigration compliance.
Instead, they offer artisanal hemp bracelets and handmade dreamcatchers from a bamboo stall on Pai’s walking street
When approached by municipal authorities this week, the couple declined to provide identification or paperwork, instead pointing solemnly to a passage scribbled on a scrap of hemp paper reading, “Deuteronomy 28:64: Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations.”
“This is fulfillment,” Yoav explained, without apparent irony. “Spiritually, Pai is our birthright. We were sent here. No papers needed.”
Officials, visibly exhausted, tried to explain that religious scripture was not recognized under Thailand’s Immigration Act. Ezra responded by burning sage and declaring that “bureaucracy is a colonial wound on the human heart.”
Several local vendors have complained, noting that the couple neither pays nightly stall fees nor participates in market cleanups, but regularly blocks prime foot traffic space to offer “auric readings” in exchange for coconut water or small tips in euros.
Attempts at mediation failed when the couple invoked “the universal bill of human rights” and made a “generous offer” of a chakra realignment session in lieu of proper business registration.
Witnesses say tensions escalated after the couple announced announced they felt “called to defend themselves” against the allegations.
At that point, the street vendors — familiar with the Israeli concept of defense on other people’s land — scattered immediately, dragging their grills and fruit carts out of the vicinity. Nearby hospitals were also evacuated as a precaution.
As of press time, authorities had postponed enforcement, citing "safety concerns" and "a sudden and unexplained rise in local drum circle activity."
The couple remained at their stall, offering free hugs to confused tourists and claiming a “righteous victory.”