Singapore tells Israeli embassy to remove 'insensitive' Palestinian post
The post claimed that Israel was mentioned 43 times in the Quran while Palestine was not even mentioned once.
SINGAPORE - A Facebook post by the Embassy of Israel here denying Quran's mention of Palestine and claiming Jewish indigenous rights has been taken down after the embassy was told to do so by the Singapore government.
Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said the post which was completely unacceptable and wrong at many levels is at the risk of undermining Singapore’s safety, security and harmony.
"I was very upset when I was told about it. My Ministry, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), spoke with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) yesterday and said that the embassy has to take the post down immediately. They have taken it down,” he told local media, Monday.
The transcript of the media doorstop related to the posting by the embassy by the minister was made available at MHA’s website.
Shanmugam also said the post was insensitive and inappropriate, as well as wrong to selectively point to religious texts to make a political point.
"This post is an astonishing attempt to re-write history. The writer of the post should look at United Nations (UN) resolutions, see if Israel’s actions in the past few decades have been consistent with international law, before trying to re-write history,” he said.
According to local media, the post on Sunday claimed that Israel was mentioned 43 times in the Quran while Palestine was not even mentioned once and that each and every archeological evidence linked the land of Israel to the Jewish people as the indigenous people of the land.
Meanwhile, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli Masagos Mohamad called the post as insensitive and disrespectful, as well as goes against the spirit of mutual respect and understanding which Singapore has worked so hard to build up over the years.
"Nobody should make interpretations that are offensive to another people’s faith, especially selectively using their sacred texts, to make political points.
"Such insensitive and inappropriate messages can cause hurt, and sow distrust amongst different communities in Singapore,” he said in his FB post.
Masagos Zukifli who is also Minister for Social and Family Development urged everyone to remain calm and civil and continue to preserve the trust, peace and harmony between communities, as well as continue to support the humanitarian aid efforts for the civilians in Gaza. - BERNAMA
