The Israeli Embassy in Singapore has taken down a contentious social media post that attempted to use the Quran’s 43 mentions of Israel but omits any mention of Palestine to defend Jewish settlements on Palestinian land and the ongoing attacks on Gaza, which have already claimed the lives of over 32,000 people.
The local daily The Straits Times stated that the message was taken down the same evening after it was posted on the Israeli Embassy’s official Facebook page on Sunday.
The article claims that although Palestine is not mentioned once in the Quran, Israel is referenced forty-three times, and that archeological data indicates that the Jewish people are the native inhabitants of the region.Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister, K. Shanmugam, denounced the tweet on Monday, calling it “completely unacceptable” and expressing his “deep upset” upon discovering it.
Reporters were informed by Shanmugam that the Ministry of Home Affairs had “made our views very clear to the Israeli embassy because it is unacceptable from the perspective of safety and security in Singapore” and had requested that the message be removed.
“We instructed them to remove it due to the possible ramifications for the various communities in Singapore,” he insisted.
Shanmugam noted that there are several errors in the post.
“To start with, it is improper and insensitive. It has the potential to jeopardize Singapore’s peace, safety, and security,” he stated.
K. Shanmugam, Singapore’s Minister of Law and Home Affairs, condemned the tweet on Monday, describing it as “completely unacceptable” and stating that he was “deeply upset” to have come across it.
Shanmugam told reporters that the sign had been removed at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which had “made our views very clear to the Israeli embassy because it is unacceptable from the perspective of safety and security in Singapore”.
“We instructed them to remove it due to the possible ramifications for the various communities in Singapore,” he continued.
Shanmugam pointed out that the post has a number of mistakes.
“It is inappropriate and insensitive to begin with. It might put Singapore’s safety, security, and peace in danger,” he said.The minister advised the author of the piece to “see if Israel’s actions in the past few decades have been consistent with international law before trying to rewrite history” by consulting the UN resolutions.
Vivian Balakrishnan, the foreign minister, had earlier denounced the appointment as “highly inappropriate.”
“Using holy scriptures to advance political agendas is just improper. He released a statement, saying, “We have made this clear to the embassy, which has taken down the post.”
Since the cross-border assault carried out by the Palestinian organization Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of almost 1,200 Israelis, Israel has launched a catastrophic military operation on Palestinian territories.
Since then, there have been widespread destruction and shortages of basic supplies, resulting in approximately 32,200 Palestinian deaths and over 74,500 injuries.In addition to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, the Israeli attack has forced 85% of Gaza’s people to flee internally, and the UN estimates that 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of committing genocide. In January, an interim verdict mandated that Tel Aviv cease its acts of genocide and take action to ensure that residents in Gaza get humanitarian aid.
