Israel barring Malaysian ‘Embassy to Palestine’ because of antisemitism
As a result, Malaysia opened an “Embassy to Palestine” in Amman, Jordan.
By LAHAV HARKOVPalestinian refugees hold Palestinian flags and chant slogans during a protest in front of UNRWA office in Amman, September 2, 2018. (photo credit: MUHAMMAD HAMED / REUTERS)
Israel has refused to grant officials from Malaysia access to Ramallah in light of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s antisemitic statements, The Jerusalem Post has learned.As a result, Malaysia opened an “Embassy to Palestine” in Amman.Israel will not allow any Malaysian officials to visit Palestinian Authority offices in the West Bank, a break in policy toward other Muslim countries with which Israel does not have official relations.“Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has led an extremist anti-Israel and antisemitic policy, including prohibiting Israeli athletic delegations from entering his country, not allowing Malaysian citizens into Israel, and hostile declarations with an antisemitic tinge,” said the Foreign Ministry. “Such behavior does not allow for any possibility of a Malaysian foothold in Israeli territory.”Mohamad has called Jews “hook-nosed,” and said that “Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.”“Jews do a lot of wrong things,” the 93-year-old Malaysian prime minister said in June at Cambridge University, adding that if he could, he would invade Israel.Mohamad has said he is “glad to be labeled antisemitic,” and in a September event at Columbia University in New York asked why people think it’s a problem for him to criticize Jews.In January, the Paralympics were moved from Malaysia after the country refused to allow in Israeli athletes.The Foreign Ministry’s decision does not apply to Malaysian tourists.
