Singapore ex-president urges people to ‘stand on side of humanity’ amid debate over school discussions on Israel-Gaza war

Singapore’s former president on Monday said the ceaseless suffering in Gaza represented “the degradation of the human soul” and called on people to “stand on the side of humanity”, in a show of emotion atypical for politicians from the city state.

In a strongly-worded statement on Facebook, Halimah Yacob also lamented that as the world “dithered” on agreeing to a ceasefire, “international laws and international bodies are rendered irrelevant”.

Analysts say the political figures were seeking to “calibrate and humanise their messaging” about the plight of Palestinians, as they point to a sharp contrast with efforts by the education ministry to teach primary and secondary students about the war, a move that had gone down poorly with segments of parents over the past few days.

The parents had sent an open letter urging the authorities to not ignore the wider context of the decades-long conflict and to deplore the loss of innocent lives. Some even expressed shock that students were discussing such a complex topic when adults felt they did not have enough room to express their sentiments about the war.

Expressing her disappointment at the lack of progress in international efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, she said: “The degradation of the human soul is obvious as the world dithers in ceasefire efforts. International laws and international bodies are rendered irrelevant. The consensus built after the horrors of [World War II] to protect the innocents during wars has been severely compromised.”

The Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing on Sunday reassured parents that the lessons were not “meant to cast one side as good and another side as evil”.

“All of us, we hope and pray for peace. Not just a temporary ceasefire, or the end