SINGAPORE: The Israeli embassy in Singapore has been told by the government to take down a "completely unacceptable" Facebook post comparing Israel and Palestine, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.
On Sunday (Mar 24), the official Facebook account of the Israeli embassy published a post containing claims comparing mentions of Israel and Palestine in the Quran.
The post said: "Israel is mentioned 43 times in the Quran. On the other hand, Palestine is not mentioned even once.
"Each and every archeological evidence – maps, documents, coins, link the land of Israel to the Jewish people as the indigenous people of the land."
The post was deleted later the same day.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Shanmugam said he was "very upset" when he became aware of the post.
He said the Home Affairs Ministry informed the Foreign Affairs Ministry, which told the Israeli embassy that the post had to be taken down immediately.
"The post is wrong at many levels," Mr Shanmugam said. "First, it is insensitive and inappropriate. It carries the risk of undermining our safety, security and harmony in Singapore.
“We look after the safety of everyone in Singapore, majority and minorities," including Jews and Muslims, he said.
Pointing out that Jews in Singapore have "very little concern for their safety and security", he said posts like this can “inflame tensions, and can put the Jewish community here at risk".
"The anger from the post can potentially spill over into the physical realm," he said.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs had asked for the posts to be taken down and made our views very clear to the Israeli embassy because it is unacceptable from the perspective of safety and security in Singapore.
"Second, it is wrong to selectively point to religious texts to make a political point. Even worse, in this current situation, for the Israeli embassy to make use of the Quran for this purpose," he continued.
"Third, this post is an astonishing attempt to rewrite history. The writer of the post should look at (United Nations) regulations, see if Israel's actions in the past few decades have been consistent with international law, before trying to rewrite history."
But he stressed that the government did not intervene with the post on that basis.
"We told them to take it down because of the potential consequences for the different communities within Singapore," he said.
He added that embassies may put out statements that the government disagrees with, but the government generally does not intervene as the embassies represent sovereign countries.
"They have autonomy, but where it affects the safety and security of people in Singapore, the peace and harmony that we enjoy, we do and we will intervene," said the minister.
In a separate statement to media, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said: “It is highly inappropriate to refer to sacred texts to make political points. We have made this clear to the embassy which has taken the post down.”
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On Sunday (Mar 24), the official Facebook account of the Israeli embassy published a post containing claims comparing mentions of Israel and Palestine in the Quran.
The post said: "Israel is mentioned 43 times in the Quran. On the other hand, Palestine is not mentioned even once.
"Each and every archeological evidence – maps, documents, coins, link the land of Israel to the Jewish people as the indigenous people of the land."
The post was deleted later the same day.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Shanmugam said he was "very upset" when he became aware of the post.
He said the Home Affairs Ministry informed the Foreign Affairs Ministry, which told the Israeli embassy that the post had to be taken down immediately.
"The post is wrong at many levels," Mr Shanmugam said. "First, it is insensitive and inappropriate. It carries the risk of undermining our safety, security and harmony in Singapore.
“We look after the safety of everyone in Singapore, majority and minorities," including Jews and Muslims, he said.
Pointing out that Jews in Singapore have "very little concern for their safety and security", he said posts like this can “inflame tensions, and can put the Jewish community here at risk".
"The anger from the post can potentially spill over into the physical realm," he said.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs had asked for the posts to be taken down and made our views very clear to the Israeli embassy because it is unacceptable from the perspective of safety and security in Singapore.
"Second, it is wrong to selectively point to religious texts to make a political point. Even worse, in this current situation, for the Israeli embassy to make use of the Quran for this purpose," he continued.
"Third, this post is an astonishing attempt to rewrite history. The writer of the post should look at (United Nations) regulations, see if Israel's actions in the past few decades have been consistent with international law, before trying to rewrite history."
But he stressed that the government did not intervene with the post on that basis.
"We told them to take it down because of the potential consequences for the different communities within Singapore," he said.
He added that embassies may put out statements that the government disagrees with, but the government generally does not intervene as the embassies represent sovereign countries.
"They have autonomy, but where it affects the safety and security of people in Singapore, the peace and harmony that we enjoy, we do and we will intervene," said the minister.
In a separate statement to media, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said: “It is highly inappropriate to refer to sacred texts to make political points. We have made this clear to the embassy which has taken the post down.”
Continue reading...