Israeli Embassy in SG asked to delete 'totally unacceptable' FB posts
On Sunday (March 24), the official Facebook account of the Israeli embassy uploaded a post, which contained claims comparing the mention of Israel and Palestine in the Quran.
The post reads: "Israel is mentioned 43 times in the Quran, while Palestine is not mentioned at all.
"Every piece of archaeological evidence - maps, documents, coins - connects the land of Israel with the Jewish people as the original inhabitants of the land."
The post was later deleted the same day.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Shanmugam said he was "very disappointed" to learn of the shipment.
He explained that the Ministry of Internal Affairs informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which then instructed the Israeli embassy to drop the shipment immediately.
"The delivery was wrong on many levels," insisted Mr Shanmugam. "First, it is insensitive and inappropriate. It carries the risk of affecting our security and harmony in Singapore.
"We look after the safety of everyone in Singapore, the majority and the minority, including Jews and Muslims," he added.
Touching on how Jews in Singapore have "little concern for their safety", he said that such shipments "create tension, and put the Jewish community at risk".
"The anger that erupted from the delivery has the potential to spill over into physical (relationships)," he said.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs has requested that the post be deleted and emphasized our views clearly to the Israeli embassy as it is unacceptable from a security perspective in Singapore.
"Secondly, it is wrong to refer to religious texts in a certain way only to make a political stance.
Moreover, in the current situation, for the Israeli embassy to use the Quran for this purpose," he explained further.
"Third, this submission is a surprising attempt to rewrite history. The writer of the submission should look at the (United Nations) rules, see if Israel's actions over the past few decades are consistent with international law, before trying to rewrite history.
"
He however emphasized that the government did not interfere with the shipment on that basis.
"We instructed them to delete it because of the potential impact that may arise for the pluralistic society in Singapore," he said.
He added that the embassy can issue a statement that the government does not agree, but the government basically does not interfere because the embassy represents a sovereign country.
"They have autonomy, but where it affects the safety and security of the people in Singapore, the peace and harmony that we enjoy,
we take action and we will intervene," the minister stressed.
In a separate statement to the media, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said: "It is highly inappropriate to refer to holy texts to make a political stand. We have explained this to the embassy, which has deleted the post."
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