A secular community venue for Israeli travellers, known as the Secular House, has opened on Koh Pha Ngan as a non-religious alternative to the island’s Chabad House, according to a June 29 report by The Jerusalem Post.
The venue, located directly opposite the island’s Chabad House, was established by the Free Secular Movement, an Israeli activist organisation that advocates for secularism and the separation of religion and state.
The Free Secular Movement opposes Chabad and its network of Chabad Houses overseas, alleging they promote religious outreach and belief in a dead rabbi as the Messiah.
The movement said the Secular House was established in response, offering a secular alternative for Israeli travellers on Koh Pha Ngan.
Naor Narkis, a secular Zionist activist and politician, said the Secular House was created in response to what he described as Chabad’s religious outreach to secular Israelis travelling abroad.
The venue plans to host discussions on secular Jewish philosophy, community dinners, cultural events and coworking facilities for digital nomads.
Narkis also criticised what he described as the growing influence of religious ideology in Israeli public life, arguing that the project would help strengthen secular identity among Israelis travelling overseas.
“The purpose of these Chabad Houses, through sweet talk, is to shape generations of secular Israelis into becoming indifferent to attempts by Chabad-Lubavitch to take over Israel.”
“In recent years, we’ve seen the infiltration of extreme religious ideas into the halls of government – and acceptance of religious ideology always begins with this kind of sweet talk.
“Religious organisations are present everywhere Israelis are found; their strategy is transparent and clear – and I’m so happy that a secular foothold is now being planted thousands of kilometres away from Israel in order to strengthen secular identity,” he said.
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