As Malaysia tightens its policy towards Israelis, warnings are increasing against traveling there or even passing through its airports on transit flights, amid testimonies of the detention of travelers, threatening interrogations, and hostile treatment, while a former Israeli ambassador warns that the risks are no longer limited to Israelis, but may also affect Jews holding foreign passports.
According to a report by journalist Asaf Vaknin on the Israeli “Mako” website, in recent months Malaysia has hardened its tone towards the Israelis, while the Malaysian Prime Minister confirmed in a media interview that his country will continue to prevent Israeli tourists from entering its territory, and that any Israeli found inside the country, including those with dual citizenship, will be deported.
The Prime Minister stressed that Malaysia will not change its policy adopted years ago, despite the criticism and pressure exerted by American legislators, after they asked the administration in Washington to reconsider security and economic relations with Kuala Lumpur against the backdrop of statements related to the Israelis.
Among the most prominent people who know the Malaysian reality closely is Eli Vered Hazan, the former Israeli ambassador to Singapore and the non-resident ambassador to East Timor, who repeatedly worked in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help Israelis who were arrested or faced problems in Malaysia.
Vered Hazan said in an interview with “Mako”: “Even for me, before I came to serve the State of Israel as ambassador in Singapore, the Southeast Asian region was less known to me compared to Europe and the United States. I am no different, and most Israelis are like me.”
He added that, according to various estimates, in recent years, millions of Israelis have cumulatively arrived in what is known as “ASEAN,” that is, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes 11 countries, but knowledge of the region is still limited.
He pointed out that one of the reasons for this, according to him, is that “Israel is a Western country that operates according to a system of rules and values that sometimes differ from those in force in the East.”
Vered Hazan spoke about his experience as ambassador to Singapore, saying, “Singapore is different from any other country, as there is an amazing system of racial harmony, and the state’s approach is based on the fact that your religion or origin does not matter, and you must respect every person, and if you do not do that, you will be subjected to severe punishment.”
He added that this was one of the reasons that prompted him to write his book, “Singapore: The Model That Works.”
He continued: “There is no doubt that Asia is the future. We are talking about a charming and diverse continent, and in most of its countries a young population segment is growing and thirsty for success.”
But he added that what must also be known, as he put it, is that quite a few countries include Muslim population groups that are “strongly hostile to Israel and the Jews.”
He said that Malaysia, which he described as “getting more militant day by day,” has a population of about 36 million people, and has a “direct and warm relationship with the Hamas movement.”
He added that Thailand, which is visited by Israelis in large numbers for holidays, includes entire regions with a Muslim majority, the number of whose members is estimated at about 7 million people, or approximately 10% of the population, and, according to him, is facing multiple security incidents.
As for the Philippines, which has a population of 119 million people and is considered a country with a clear Catholic majority, it also includes about 7 million Muslims, and he said that the vast majority of them have a very negative attitude towards Israel.
Vered Hazan linked the escalation of these positions to what happened after the events of October 7 and the war that Israel waged, saying that the residents of the region “received a very distorted picture of reality, which led to an increase in hatred.”
He accused the international media and social media networks of spreading what he described as “lies” and “slander,” adding that this also led to statements from politicians who sought to achieve political gains and contributed to increasing tension.
He said: “The Israelis felt this to a lesser extent, but we lived it.”
Speaking about Malaysia specifically, Verd Hazan explained that it is very close to Singapore, and said that the distance between the ambassador’s residence and the border crossing was only about 27 kilometers, which is equivalent to about an hour and a half by car.
He added: “But as close as we were geographically, we were far away geopolitically and religiously.”
He continued that even before the events of October 7, Malaysia was, as he described it, “a problematic country, which includes Islamic movements hostile to Jews and Israel, and anti-Semitic political leaders.”
He said that things had become more severe since the scenes began arriving from the Gaza Strip.
Vered Hazan explained that until recently, Israelis holding foreign passports, in addition to Jews who did not hold an Israeli passport, were entering and leaving Malaysia.
He added that the country has economic importance in a vital organization for the world, but he stressed that in recent months the embassy began to feel that “something has changed, and in a dramatic way.”
He said: “Malaysia has become dangerous not only for Israelis, but also for Jews who do not hold Israeli citizenship.”
He added that this issue began to occupy the embassy more and more, and that with the passage of time he discovered, as he put it, “a whole world that the Israelis do not know, which is the Malaysian complexity.”
The former ambassador noted that quite a few Israelis were using connecting flights in Southeast Asia that pass through Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
He said that many of them, whether they held Israeli or foreign passports, were sometimes detained for entire days after arriving there without being aware of the sensitivity of the situation.
He added: “Until today, we are not talking about an experience similar to the scenes shown in the movie Midnight Express, but Malaysian hostility is very clear. Interrogations are annoying, threatening, unfair, and sometimes disturbing.”
He explained that, along with the consulate at the Israeli Embassy in Singapore, Noam Avnat, and employees of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in various countries in the region, he dealt with a number of cases during which they had to work in the middle of the night in order to help Israelis get out of cases of detention and harassment inside the Malaysian airport.
He added: “We had to maintain secrecy, because any publication would have made it more difficult for them to be released.”
He continued that the Malaysian Prime Minister “is increasing his rhetoric against us more and more,” adding that when an issue of this kind is published, “Malaysians are quick to prove that they are committed to their hostility toward Israel,” as he put it.
Vered Hazan said that a number of Israelis with whom he and the consulate spoke testified about hostile treatment, which prompted them to recommend to Israelis and Jews not to enter Malaysia or pass through it in any way.
He added that the situation has worsened significantly recently, “even Jews holding foreign passports are subjected to uncomfortable interrogations, and we do not know how dangerous the situation of the next person to be arrested could be.”
He also gave advice to Israelis visiting other countries in Southeast Asia, calling on them to behave politely and not attract attention.
He said: “It is not because we are not proud of our Israeliness, God forbid, quite the opposite, but because reality has changed, and in the era of social media networks and the hatred they ignite, things have become more complicated.”
He added that when taking photos or recording videos while traveling, it is preferable to post them on social media networks only after returning to Israel.
Vered Hazan concluded by saying that it is important for every Israeli to know what is happening in this region, considering that the issue relates to “people’s lives.”
Thus, Israeli warnings are no longer limited to direct entry into Malaysia, but rather extend to simply passing through its airports, in light of a climate that Israeli testimonies say has become more stringent and sensitive in recent months.
