100 activists express concerns over SL Govt.’s growing ties with ‘genocide’ State of Israel

Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath 

The NPP Government’s recent actions to expand diplomatic and labour ties with the State of Israel—at a time when it is actively engaged in the genocidal eradication of the Palestinian people—represents a profound moral and political failure. By facilitating the deployment of Sri Lankan labour to Israel, and to territories it occupies illegally, the Sri Lankan state is no longer a neutral observer, but a complicit participant in sustaining a genocidal and apartheid system

Following is a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath written by 100 academics, clergy, lawyers, trade unionists etc., calling out the Government for its close ties with the State of Israel, including the recent signing of a MoU to send more workers to Israel, the waiver on visas to Israeli tourists, including IDF soldiers on vacation

We write to you with deep disappointment, anger, and shame as signatories representing Left movements, progressive organisations, and people committed to justice and international solidarity in Sri Lanka.

The NPP Government’s recent actions to expand diplomatic and labour ties with the State of Israel—at a time when it is actively engaged in the genocidal eradication of the Palestinian people—represents a profound moral and political failure. By facilitating the deployment of Sri Lankan labour to Israel, and to territories it occupies illegally, the Sri Lankan state is no longer a neutral observer, but a complicit participant in sustaining a genocidal and apartheid system.

The signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 22 December 2025, by Deputy Minister, Arun Hemachandra is inexcusable. Especially given that prior to coming to power, the Deputy Minister was a vocal and visible supporter of the rights of the Palestinian people. His recent visit to the region, during which he reportedly refused even to meet representatives of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, marks an indefensible 180-degree reversal in both NPP and JVP party positions on Palestine. This reversal is a clear betrayal of human values, leftist principles, and the trust of the people who gave this Government a two-thirds majority mandate.

With a two-thirds mandate, this Government was entrusted not merely with administrative authority, but with moral leadership. Instead, it has chosen to sacrifice a principled foreign policy stance, something invaluable in the international diplomatic landscape, for readily available economic incentives. In doing so, the Government has sold what cannot be bought back: credibility, conscience, and historical legacy.

At a time when the Global North continues to demonstrate blatant indifference to the destruction, displacement, and suffering it inflicts upon the peoples of the Global South, the urgent need of the hour is Global South solidarity—a people’s solidarity rooted in shared histories of colonialism, resistance, and struggle. Sri Lanka should be strengthening this solidarity, not undermining it.

We remind you that in the 1950s, Sri Lanka stood at the very centre of such a principled international movement. That legacy of non-alignment, moral clarity, and solidarity with oppressed peoples, continues to benefit our country diplomatically to this day. Yet, the short-sighted decisions of the current NPP/JVP Government, through shortsighted diplomacy

has squandered this inheritance, preventing Sri Lanka from occupying a similar position of respect and leadership moving forward.

We urge you, and by extension, the NPP Government, to reconsider this dangerous trajectory. The forces that are conducting this genocide in Palestine do not look at our country and our people any differently, and the compromise we make for the demands of “Justice” and “Freedom” for the people of Palestine is the compromise they will demand we make of ourselves.

 Yours sincerely,

The undersigned signatories of Left movements, progressive organisations, and concerned citizens of Sri Lanka.

Signatories

Individuals (Organisation/s represented)

1. A.K. Azeez

2. Aamina Nizar

3. Abdulla Ibrahim

4. Adil Ibrahim

5. Ahmed Ishrath Mohideen

6. Ahmed Muhsin

7. Ali Sadique

8. Amaarah Kellapatha

9. Amras Ali

10.Anberiya Hanifa (Muslim Women's Research and Action Forum)

11. Anne-Marie Fonseka

12. Ayesha Muhsin

13. Azhar Munas

14. Balasingham Skanthakumar - Co-Editor (Polity)

15. Baudeen Ibrahim

16. Bishop Duleep de Chickera

17. Chirantha Amarasinghe

18. Christopher Stephen

19. Dr. Farah Mihlar

20. Dr. Mahendran Thiruvarangan - University of Jaffna

21.Dr. Misha'ari Weerabangsa (Delete Nothing)

22. Dr. Vinoth Ramachandra

23. Fahima Sahabdeen

24. Fareena Ibrahim

25. Fathi Allie

26. Fathima Ilma Riyaz

27.Fathima Isharah Mohideen Magdon Ismail

28. Fathima Jihara Mohamed

29. Fathi Saleh

30. Fr. Jeevantha Peiris

31. Fr. Terrence Fernando

32. Gihan De Zoysa

33. Gnei Fazana Ibrahim

34. Hafsa Ossman

35. Hajara Ibrahim

36. Hana Ibrahim

37. Heba Husain

38. Hejaaz Hizbullah - Attorney-at-Law

39. Hussain Shamil Imtiaz Ali

40.Imran Rajabdeen - Social Activist

41. Indra Saparamadu

42. Iqbal Ibrahim

43. Ismail Ibrahim

44. Jaan De Zoysa

45. Janice De Zoysa

46. Jeana De Zoysa

47. Juweriya Ibrahim

48. Kareema Hussain

49. Krishni Panditharatne

50. Lionel James Harold Peiris

51. Maimuna Ibrahim

52.Mario Gomez (International Centre for Ethnic Studies)

53. Marisa de Silva

54. Megara Tegal

55. Melani Gunathilaka

56. Mevantha Senanayake

57. Mohamed Huzam Hussain

58. Mohamed Zahran 

59. Nagulan Nesiah

60. Nasreen Bawa

61.Nicola Perera - University of Colombo

62. Parveen Seyed

63. Prof. Jayantha Senevirate

64. Puni Selvaratnam

65. Rahma Ibrahim

66. Rasheeda Ibrahim

67. Reza Suĺaiman

68. Riyal Reffai (People's Movement Against Corruption)

69.Rohini Hensman - Writer and Independent Scholar

70. Saad Ibrahim

71. Sabeera Cader

72. Sabina Mohideen

73. Sadique Salih

74. Salma Ibrahim

75. Sameera Mahboobdeen

76. Sanjee Goonetilake

77. Sarah Kellapatha

78. Sarah Salih

79. Sara Raffa

80. Satya Burgess

81. Serena Burgess

82. Shameem Ahamed

83. Shamima Salie

84. Shazna Refai

85. Shifa Noor Hafeera Munas

86. Shreen Saroor (Women's Action Network)

87. Srinath Goonerathna

88.Srinath Perera, AAL (Tea Workers Center)

89. Sulochana Peiris - Independent Documentary Maker and researcher

90.Sunanda Deshapriya - Journalist, Writer and Human Rights Activist

91.Swasthika Arulingam (Commercial and Industrial Workers' Union/United Federation of Labour)

92. Thasneema Dahlan

93. Thisaru Guruge

94. Tina Karunaratne

95. Tisaranee Gunasekara

96. Tracy Holsinger

97. Usman Nizam

98. Ven. Fr. Samuel J Ponniah

99. Ven. Kalupahana Piyaratana - Former Commissioner, Human Right Commission Srilanka

100. Zuleiha Nizam