Before the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, it was almost unthinkable that the Islamic State (ISIS), under the leadership of Mohamed Zahran Hashim from Kattankudy, could coordinate such a devastating act. The Easter Sunday bombings stand as one of the deadliest terrorist attacks globally since 9/11. Overlooking the risk of anti-Semitism gaining ground in Sri Lanka may lead to dire outcomes. The recent controversy following the return of a group of Sri Lankan journalists from Israel highlights that anti-Semitic sentiment is beginning to influence local politics.
Pro-Palestinian activism in Sri Lanka has increasingly provided fertile ground for anti-Semitic sentiment. What often goes unnoticed is that, in practice, advocacy for the Palestinian cause has become closely linked with support for Hamas. Therefore, the emergence of anti-Semitism in Sri Lanka should be interpreted as an ideological endorsement of global Islamic extremism. Critics of this perspective tend to deflect it as Islamophobia, insisting, “There is no anti-Semitism in Sri Lanka because Sri Lankans cannot be anti-Semites; anti-Semitism is rooted in Europe’s perception of Jews as a religious, cultural, and political other.” If that’s the case, how do we account for the opposition to the Chabad House and the Jewish presence in Sri Lanka?
It is not new for Sri Lanka’s main political parties to use historical support for Palestine as a political stance, even though the country recognized the state of Israel on March 25, 1949. The exception was under J.R. Jayewardene, who sought closer ties with Israel and supported opening an Israeli interest section in Colombo. Given this history—marked by fluctuating relations—pro-Palestinian sentiment has become a political trend among mainstream parties, including Tamil minority parties. Against this backdrop, Colombo has always approached close cooperation with Israel hesitantly. The National People’s Power government also shares this reluctance. The crucial question remains: do Sri Lanka’s strategic thinkers realize that the current Gaza conflict cannot be addressed with the same approach as previous support for PLO-led Palestine under the banner of non-alignment?
In this context, a political directive—promoted by Muslim politicians and groups in Sri Lanka—demands that everyone support Palestine. Those who refuse are often labeled as Mossad agents. For example, comments made by a Muslim member of parliament targeting journalists who returned from Israel show how anti-Semitic narratives are slowly taking shape, frequently by spotlighting Israeli tourists. Traditionally, anti-Semitism has involved limiting the participation of Jewish people in society.
Two groups are central to this trend: some Muslim politicians and individuals from the Eastern Province actively promote these campaigns, while opposition parties—especially Muslim politicians—also participate, seeking to challenge the ruling National People’s Power government. A fabricated story about the “occupation” of Arugam Bay, a major tourist destination, by Jewish people is being spread in a manner reminiscent of Goebbels’ propaganda. This is clear evidence that seeds of anti-Semitism are being sown in Sri Lankan local politics.
Muslim political groups and the old left, who vocally condemn the situation in Gaza, did not acknowledge or condemn the inhumane attack on the Jewish people on October 7, 2023. On that day, more than 1,200 men, women, and children—including 46 Americans and citizens of over 30 countries—were brutally killed by Hamas in the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Even the religious leader of Saudi Arabia condemned the October attack, yet the Muslims in Sri Lanka did not. Sheikh Mohammed Al-Issa—a former Saudi Justice Minister who now serves as Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL), the largest non-governmental Islamic organization in the world— called Hamas a terrorist group and referred to the October 7th attack as a crime. In his remarks in Washington, D.C., he added, “We want the war in Gaza to end and all the hostages to be freed.” What was the stance of Sri Lanka’s Muslim political elite and religious leaders?
However, Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem condemned Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion” against Iran, labeling it a “burial action” and accusing Prime Minister Netanyahu of being the “head of a genocidal team” trying to destabilize the Middle East. Notably, no Muslim country in the Middle East supported Iran during this incident. After Israel’s attack on the safe house where Hamas leaders sheltered in Qatar, Hakeem criticized the NPP government for “tactical or strategic collusion” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration. Yet, he still has not condemned Hamas’s terror against Jewish people. If this is not hatred of Jews, then what is it?
Based on this author’s observations during a recent visit to Israel—including a visit to the site of the October 7 massacre at the desert festival near Kibbutz Re’im in the western Negev, where thousands had gathered—there is a palpable sense within Israel of an obligation to prevent such tragedies from happening again. This sentiment underpins the rationale behind the current Israeli military campaign to eliminate Hamas. While it is undeniable that civilian casualties are occurring in Gaza, as one retired Israeli military officer remarked, “War is ugly, and its consequences are troubling.” Nonetheless, it is important to recognize that the ongoing conflict has its roots in the chain of violence that began with the events of October 7.
In this context, the ongoing conflict is not a war that Israel chose, but one that has been forced upon it by Hamas. However, in Sri Lanka, discussions about Gaza rarely consider this perspective. Instead, they consistently reflect an anti-Israeli sentiment. If we examine the situation closely, it becomes clear that the pro-Palestinian narrative, along with its discourse, works to weaken the relationship between Israel and Sri Lanka—a goal actively pursued by certain Muslim politicians. For this reason, the author identifies these developments as the onset of anti-Semitism. In political terms, anti-Semitism, anti-Jewish, and anti-Israel sentiments are inseparable; they function as a single ideology.
There is only 1 state in the Middle east that is currently actively following a policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing and that is Israel. Inflating criticism of the state of Israel with anti-Semitism is an age old tactic to abdicate any responsibility of such war crimes. The fact that the Israeli General who is actively in charge of leading such atrocities is getting the benefit of the doubt by this author but Politicians in Sri Lanka who are rallying in opposition against having diplomatic ties with a colonialist apartheid state shows the mentality and the bias of this author.
This article gaslights criticism of Israel as support of terrorism and extremism while also excusing the very acts of state sponsored terrorism committed by Israel as just a necessary part of war. This has to be a joke.
Shame on this so-called “independent journalist”.
“In political terms, anti-Semitism, anti-Jewish, and anti-Israel sentiments are inseparable; they function as a single ideology”. This isn’t truth – it’s a heavily biased, politically loaded claim.
Anti-semitism is hatred of Jews. Anti-Israel sentiment is criticism of a state. They are not the same. Many Jews themselves oppose Israel’s policies, and countless non-Jews criticize Israel without anti-Jewish prejudice. The core of the critique is Zionism – not Judaism.
Equating all criticism of Israel with anti-semitism is a strategy pushed by the Israeli government and its lobby groups – especially when it comes to Palestine.
Shame on this journalist for using his platform to blur those lines and downplay an ongoing genocide. Money really buries morality and objectivity.
This article is a textbook example of hasbara-fueled fearmongering, masquerading as analysis while peddling Islamophobic tropes to smear Sri Lanka’s longstanding solidarity with Palestine. Written by A. Jathindra, it reads like a paid shill’s hit job—cherry-picking quotes, conflating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, and ignoring Sri Lanka’s non-aligned foreign policy roots. Let’s dismantle its flimsy claims one by one.
First, the core thesis: Pro-Palestinian activism equals “anti-Semitic sentiment” and Hamas endorsement? Nonsense. Sri Lanka’s support for Palestine dates back to the Non-Aligned Movement era, driven by shared anti-colonial struggles, not Jew-hatred. We’ve recognized Israel since 1949 and maintained diplomatic ties—hardly a “weakening” plot. Labeling beachside protests or boycotts as “explicit anti-Semitism” is a desperate smear; it’s opposition to occupation and apartheid policies, not ethnic bigotry. As one analysis notes, true anti-Semitism requires historical “othering” of Jews, which Sri Lanka lacks—no pogroms, no stereotypes here. This isn’t Europe; it’s solidarity with the oppressed.
Second, the denial of anti-Semitism as a “European phenomenon”? The article twists this to attack critics, but it’s spot-on: Sri Lankans, including Muslims, have zero cultural baggage of Jew-baiting. Groundviews debunked this exact narrative as a refuge for anti-Muslim bias. Opposition to the Chabad House? That’s not hate—it’s scrutiny of foreign influence amid Gaza’s horrors, not a call to expel Jews.
Third, Muslim politicians as propaganda machines? The Arugam Bay “Jewish occupation” tale is the real fabrication—unsubstantiated gossip from a fringe, not a party line. Labeling dissenters “Mossad agents” happens on all sides in polarized debates; it’s not unique to Muslims. And Rauff Hakeem? His recent jabs at the NPP government aren’t anti-Jewish rants—they’re pragmatic calls to balance ties with Qatar, our key labor and aid partner, after Israel’s unprovoked strikes there. He slammed the Foreign Ministry for shielding Israel and risking Gulf relations, not for existing. Conflating policy critique with “genocidal” slurs against Netanyahu is McCarthyism 101.
Fourth, the selective Oct 7 outrage: Yes, SL Muslim leaders didn’t issue press releases parroting Saudi clerics, but that’s not endorsement—it’s focus on the disproportionate Gaza response (40,000+ dead). Many SL voices, including interfaith groups, condemn violence on *both* sides. The author’s kibbutz tourism? Emotional blackmail, ignoring Hamas’s context in decades of blockade.
Finally, dragging in Easter bombings as a “precedent”? Pure fear porn—unrelated to Jews or Palestine, just stoking Islamophobia to justify surveillance.
This isn’t journalism; it’s a desperate bid to guilt-trip SL into unconditional Israel loyalty, ignoring our sovereignty. Readers, skip the shill and read actual history. Free Palestine isn’t anti-anyone—it’s pro-justice. Wake up to the real hidden hand: colonial apologism.
Shame on you and SL guardian for turning into the mouthpieces of Zionists and genociders. During your vist you should have asked for an unrestricted access to Palestinian quarter of the city many have realised the truth by visiting there
AMM
The writer A. Jathindra, despite projecting himself as an “independent journalist,” is anything but independent. His recent article titled “The Hidden Hand of Anti-Semitism in Sri Lankan Politics” is a glaring testimony to his deep-rooted bias and compromised loyalties.
The tone, the tenor, and the unfounded generalizations woven into his narrative betray a clear agenda: to whitewash Israeli excesses while vilifying the legitimate Palestinian struggle.
It is no secret that Jathindra’s recent, well-publicized visit to Israel was generously sponsored and facilitated by his patrons — the very same Israeli establishment whose intelligence apparatus, Mossad, has long specialized in manufacturing propaganda. To return from such a trip and suddenly pontificate about “anti-Semitism” in Sri Lankan politics exposes not only his intellectual dishonesty but also the strings that guide his pen.
What else can one reasonably expect from a writer who prostitutes the noble craft of journalism for thirty pieces of silver? Instead of adhering to the core journalistic principles of balance, truth, and integrity, Jathindra stoops to fabricating narratives and spinning half-truths to demonize the oppressed while sanitizing the oppressor. Such writing is not journalism; it is propaganda masquerading as analysis.
The Palestinian cause has always enjoyed global solidarity because it stands on the undeniable pillars of justice, freedom, and human dignity. No amount of distortion by hired pens can erase the suffering of a people displaced, dispossessed, and dehumanized for over seven decades. By choosing to be a megaphone for an apartheid state, Jathindra has discredited himself permanently in the eyes of any discerning reader.
Sri Lanka, with its own bitter history of colonial manipulation, will not be swayed by the sophistry of a compromised scribe. Truth is resilient, and the truth remains: the Palestinian cause is just, and attempts to vilify it will only boomerang on their authors.
The outrageous personal attacks affirms what the writer alleges. The goal is to make the writer with a different perspective- seem untrustworthy or incompetent, thereby making his argument appear irrelevant or invalid. Ad hominem attacks aim to avoid engaging with the substance of an argument by making the writer look bad, diverting attention from the real issue at hand.
These Attacks coupled with Secondary Reasoning, – begs us to challenge ourselves when confined to limited knowledge and sensory experiences.
Palestinians have suffered enough. At the hands of Hamas and now the war.
Hamas has –
Used its own people as shields, while Hamas hides in tunnels and wages a losing war. Al Aqsa flood is designed for just that. Not one Palestinian-woman or child has been given safety and shelter in those tunnels ( as large as the UK underground. 500 kilometers of tunnels in Gaza, 57,000 entrances. All of Gaza is a battlefield to force the enemy to find them. 22 months of war civilians stood between Hamas and Israel)
Hamas can end this war today and end the suffering of Palestinians.
We are South Asians.
We didn’t grow up hating the Jews as the Arab world did. It’s not in our schools curriculum, nor a citizen mandate.
It was the Pan Arab movement that rilled up the Muslim world to see the ME conflict as a religious one. Unfortunately today it has become that.
Hamas terrorists screaming “Allahu Akbar”as they rape, murder, take hostage the Jewish women has desecrated Islam.
Islam prohibits taking women, children and the sick as hostages.
Don’t borrow Arab narratives.
We are South Asians.
Palestinian interests will not be protected on the altar of Jew hatred.
Why are Muslims who support “FreePalestine,” not read the #Hamas charter?
I have worked with Palestinians. Know many others. To most of them the solution was the eradication of Israel and establishing a Palestinian state. Do you?
I support the existence of a Jewish state.
Koran (17:104, The Night Journey
“And thereafter We said to the Children of Israel:
Dwell securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come to pass, we will gather you together in a mingled crowd.”
Surah Al-Maidah (5:21), the Quran speaks of a “holy land” assigned to the Children of Israel: “O my people, enter the holy land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back and become losers.”
We don’t have to agree, but can we disagree better?
Good article.
Nice to see something pro Israel for a change.
And it looks like there is a deliberate brigading of comments here to undermine the writer and his writing.
Good work Jathindra. You know you’ve struck a nerve when they try this hard.
Keep going.