Singapore tells Israeli embassy to remove Facebook post about Palestine and Quran

‘Wrong to selectively point to religious texts to make political point,’ says Singapore’s law minister

The Israeli embassy in Singapore has been told to delete a controversial Facebook post about Palestine that the local government said was “insensitive” and “inappropriate”.

Singapore’s minister for law and home affairs, K Shanmugam, said the now-deleted post was an “astonishing attempt to rewrite history” and “completely unacceptable”.

He said that the Israeli embassy was asked to remove the post due to concerns it could jeopardise Singapore’s safety, security, and harmony.

“I was very upset when I was told about it,” he said on Monday. “And the Ministry of Home Affairs spoke with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday and said that the embassy has to take the post down immediately, and they have taken it down.”

The controversial Facebook post by the embassy alleged that “Israel is mentioned 43 times in the Quran. On the other hand, Palestine is not mentioned even once” and claimed archaeological findings like maps, documents, and coins prove Jews are Israel’s indigenous population.

It comes as Israel wages a war against Hamas that has laid waste to the Gaza Strip, killing more than 30,000 Palestinians – many of them women and children – according to the local health ministry. The UN says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation.

Israel launched its ground offensive into Gaza, as well as extensive operations across the occupied West Bank, after the 7 October terror attack by Hamas in southern Israel that killed at least 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage.

Speaking about the embassy’s Facebook post, Mr Shanmugam was quoted as saying by The Strait Times: “We told them [the Israeli embassy in Singapore] to take it down because of the potential consequences for the different communities within Singapore.”

He added: “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.”

The minister went further and said that “the writer of the post should look at UN resolutions, see if Israel’s actions in the past few decades have been consistent with international law before trying to rewrite history”.

He warned that such posts could escalate tensions, potentially endangering Jews if online anger transitions into real-world threats.

The Facebook post was added on 24 March and had been removed from the site by the evening of the same day.

An Israeli embassy spokesperson confirmed that the post has led to disciplinary action against the individual involved. According to a statement published in The Strait Times, the Israel embassy said that it “respects religion and racial harmony in Singapore – we have already taken action against the relevant person”.

“Due to security reasons, we are unable to divulge the name or role of the person. However, we assure you that the social media post that had gone up was done without the necessary approvals and the person responsible has already been harshly punished and will face internal disciplinary measures.”

Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan also issued a statement against the Facebook post. “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.”

Singapore’s minister-in-charge of Muslim affairs, Masagos Zulkifli, posted a statement on his Facebook on 25 March.

“Nobody should make interpretations that are offensive to another people’s faith, especially selectively using their sacred texts, to make political points.

“Whether one is a Singaporean or foreigner in Singapore, we must not do or say anything that disrupts the social harmony that is so precious to us in Singapore. Such insensitive and inappropriate messages can cause hurt, and sow distrust amongst different communities in Singapore.”