Malaysia PM defends ban on Israeli citizens amid US backlash

The Malaysian government announced on Wednesday that it will continue enforcing its long-standing policy of barring Israeli citizens from entering the country, despite criticism from Washington.

“We will continue this policy and will not allow Israelis to set foot in Malaysia,” said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Located in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is a Muslim-majority nation that has no diplomatic relations with Israel and has maintained a decades-long ban on Israeli passport holders.

The prime minister dismissed criticism from U.S. lawmakers who have condemned the policy.

“Malaysia is an independent country and we are free to express our views," Ibrahim said. "Therefore, despite the threats, I will firmly defend the rights of Malaysians and the decision made by the Malaysian people to remain steadfast in banning the presence of any Israeli citizen in the country.”

The latest controversy was triggered by unconfirmed social media reports claiming that a global tech initiative called "Network School" included Israeli participants with dual citizenship who allegedly entered Malaysia using non-Israeli passports.

Ibrahim also revealed that he told U.S. President Donald Trump he had met with senior Hamas leaders. He argued that while Malaysia maintains good relations with the United States, it would not remain silent over the war in Gaza.

“During our meeting, I told Trump that I had indeed met with a Hamas leader to express condolences to their families, who had suffered from the impact of the bombings and the killing of their women, children and families. There is nothing unusual about that,” he said, adding that while Malaysia maintains good relations with the U.S, "we cannot be cowards and fail to condemn the killing of innocent people in Gaza.”

Malaysia has not condemned Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage from Israel's southern border communities.

Responding to accusations of antisemitism, Ibrahim argued that Malaysia's policy targets Israeli citizenship rather than Jewish identity.

“This is totally absurd because, as far as we are concerned, this policy has been adopted by Malaysia for decades,” he said

“We are against the presence here of any Israeli citizen – not Jews, but Israeli citizens because they are complicit in the murders, crimes and continuous oppression and colonisation of Palestine and Gaza,” he added.

Critics note that Malaysia has a long history of antisemitic rhetoric. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, for example, referred to Jews as "hook-nosed" in 2018 and has repeatedly blamed Israel's existence for instability in the Middle East.