Israeli embassy in Singapore says deleted Facebook post made without approvals, person responsible has been 'harshly punished'
The embassy declined to reveal the name and role of the person for security reasons, but said they would face internal disciplinary measures.
SINGAPORE – The post on the Israeli embassy in Singapore’s Facebook page that Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam had called “completely unacceptable” had been made without approval, a spokesperson from the embassy said.
According to CNA, the embassy spokesperson also shared on Monday (25 March) that action had been taken against the relevant individual.
“The Israeli Embassy respects religion and racial harmony in Singapore,” the spokesperson told CNA.
“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.”
However, the responsible party’s name and designation could not be shared for “security reasons”, the spokesperson told CNA.
Good that Israeli embassy knows the post was wrong, says Shanmugam
Shanmugam, who is also Singapore's Law Minister, said he was aware of the Israeli embassy’s acknowledgement that the post was not authorised, and that they took severe action against the person who put it up.
The deleted post had made claims about Jews and mentions of Israel and Palestine in the Quran, which the minister had slammed as an “astonishing attempt to rewrite history”.
Speaking at the iftar session at Joo Chiat’s Khalid Mosque later in the day, Shanmugam said, “So in a way, that is good because they accept that the post was wrong in the first place and should have never been put up.”
Shanmugam reiterated the reasons the Facebook post was wrong and why he had asked his ministry to reach out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get it removed, adding that “something like this, this can make people very angry in Singapore”.
“If they had just said things which are not accurate, generally embassies, even if we don’t agree with them, we don’t intervene,” Shanmugam said.
“But when they say things that affect safety and security of Singapore, within Singapore, then we intervene. That’s what we did immediately.”
He emphasised that Singapore had worked hard for the religious harmony between the different racial groups, which he said “is too precious”.
“You don’t find this very much in many other places and we cannot let it be undermined by actions like these,” Shanmugam said. He also added that the ongoing crisis in Gaza is a tragedy.
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