Singapore’s Beyond The Vines apologises for ‘insensitive’ comments on Israel-Gaza war
- Husband-wife founder duo Daniel Chew and Rebecca Ting said they ‘do not condone the killings of thousands of innocent Palestinians’ after being criticised for their pro-Israel stance
- Netizens also claimed that the fashion brand had deleted comments and blocked users supporting Palestine
The statement, posted just before 10am on Thursday on BTV’s Instagram page, reads: “We would like to respond to recent clarifications about our stance on the ongoing tragedy unfolding in Gaza … We both acknowledge that our words and manner were insensitive and inappropriate.
“We do not condone the killings of thousands of innocent Palestinians. Our hearts weigh heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with them.
“As founders of the brand, we take full responsibility for our insensitivity and mishandling of this matter … We aspire to be a business that our community is proud of and hope to be given the opportunity to learn and get this right in the future.”
The post is co-signed by husband-wife founder duo Daniel Chew and Rebecca Ting, who established BTV – well-known among Singaporean women for their Dumpling Bag series – in 2015.
The controversy first started when netizens claimed that Chew was following a pro-Israel Christian account called Firm, or Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries, on Instagram.
According to TikTok user “psstpsstea”, he was also “caught liking pro-Israel posts from @firmisrael and @nccsg (New Creation Church Singapore) encouraging followers to ‘pray for Israel’ amid the genocide”.