Israel-Gaza war: as Singapore investigates latest anti-Israel protest, is there a ‘paradigm shift’ in domestic views?

In a rare act of defiance of strict laws governing demonstrations, especially on the war, supporters of the pro-Palestinian cause on Monday unfurled a banner at tourist attraction Gardens by the Bay.

The latest incident highlights an undercurrent in society that could put the local government in a “Catch-22 position”, said Bilveer Singh, a political scientist from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

“What has happened is a paradigm shift and a warning to the government that its views, logic and rationality are not working with some people in society,” he said. “It shows that people are ready to take political risk, and this is new [for Singapore].”

Created by an organisation called Singapore for Palestine, the petition acknowledged that the island state’s leaders had expressed their concern about the plight of Palestinians and criticised Israel’s disproportionate response.

“What then is the point of the actions Singapore has been taking to aid Gaza, while financing and collaborating with Israel on arms trade, making their attacks on Gaza more lucrative? It is unacceptable that Singaporeans’ hard-earned money is used to fund genocide, and that we continue to provide a platform for the perpetrators of such violence,” the petition’s writers said.

This Week in Asia has reached out to the organisation for comment.

Since Israeli military advisers left the republic in the mid-1970s, both sides fostered close ties in defence and technology, with arms deals totalling about US$61 million from 2014 to 2019, according to the Database of Israeli Military and Security Export.

The arms trade included the sale of tanks, air-to-ground Barak missiles and the Hermes drone system, among other devices and warships.

In the last few months,