MAPIM REBUKES THE INCONSISTENCIES OF THE BOARD OF DEPUTIES OF BRITISH JEWS ON PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD

Majlis Perundingan Pertubuhan Islam Malaysia (Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations) – MAPIM
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PRESS STATEMENT

MAPIM REBUKES THE INCONSISTENCIES OF THE BOARD OF DEPUTIES OF BRITISH JEWS ON PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD

Kuala Lumpur, 2 September 2025 – The Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (MAPIM) expresses its deep concern and disappointment with the statement released by the Board of Deputies of British Jews opposing the United Kingdom’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state.

The Board claimed that such recognition would “reward Hamas’s violence and intransigence.” This assertion reveals glaring inconsistencies and a troubling distortion of the historical and political reality.

1. Recognition is about rights, not rewards

The recognition of Palestine is not a concession to any movement. It is a long-overdue affirmation of the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination, guaranteed under international law and United Nations resolutions. To frame statehood as a “reward for violence” is to deny Palestinians their legitimate place in the family of nations.

2. Ignoring the root causes

For decades before Hamas even existed, Palestinians endured land dispossession, forced exile, apartheid policies, and a brutal occupation. By reducing the Palestinian struggle solely to the existence of Hamas, the Board of Deputies deliberately erases the structural violence of Israel’s illegal occupation, siege of Gaza, and daily human rights violations.

3. Selective moral outrage

The Board emphasises the plight of Israeli hostages, yet remains silent on the millions of Palestinians who have been collectively punished—through bombings, arbitrary detention, home demolitions, and strangulating blockades. Such one-sided advocacy undermines any claim to moral authority.

4. Recognition as a step toward genuine peace

MAPIM asserts that the recognition of Palestine is not a threat to peace, but rather a necessary foundation for it. Sustainable peace cannot be built on apartheid, dispossession, or denial of sovereignty. Both Palestinians and Israelis can only achieve security when justice is upheld and equal rights are recognised.

5. A call for consistency and justice

We urge the Board of Deputies of British Jews to adopt a morally consistent position—condemning violence and injustice from all sides, including the Israeli Occupation Forces, whose actions against civilians in Gaza and the West Bank have been documented by the United Nations and international human rights organisations.

MAPIM reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and calls upon the UK Government to proceed with the recognition of the State of Palestine as a historic step towards ending decades of dispossession and bloodshed.

Issued by:

Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid
President
MAPIM – Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations