In May 2007, during a visit to the Palestinian Territories, Kasrils met with the Political Leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh and invited him to make his first visit outside the Muslim world to South Africa. South Africa's Jewish Board of Deputies criticised the invitation, saying the "racist ideology" of Haniyeh's Hamas organisation, which led the Palestinian unity government at that time, stood in contrast to South Africa's own post-apartheid ideals. In response to criticism of the invitation Kasrils was quoted (Haaretz, 7 May 2007) as stating: "Those who myopically object to such invitations merely show that they have learnt nothing from South Africa's transition".