Israeli-Indonesian ties: Still a long way to go<\/p>\n
By Oei Eng Goan<\/p>\n
JERUSALEM (JP): Unless Israel achieves a breakthrough in its
\npeace talks with its Arab foes and acknowledges the permanent
\nstatus of an independent Palestinian nation, the Jewish state can
\nhardly materialize its wish to have trade and diplomatic
\nrelations with Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Israel has shown its keen interest in having friendly
\nrelations with Indonesia after President Abdurrahman Wahid hinted
\nlast October that he planned to establish economic ties with the
\nIsraeli government.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, however, retracted his controversial plan
\nfollowing protests and pressure from several Islamic groups,
\nincluding many Muslim scholars from the Nahdlatul Ulama social
\norganization which he once chaired.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country by population,
\nhas consistently supported the Arab states in their conflicts
\nwith Israel and has never recognized the existence of the Jewish
\nstate.<\/p>\n
Responding to Abdurrahman's controversial gesture, Israeli
\nMinister for Regional Cooperation Shimon Peres said recently that
\nhe saw no reason why Indonesia and Israel could not become good
\nfriends, as the two countries were never involved in a conflict.
\nHe noted it was especially true now the Jakarta government had
\nmoved toward democracy and the international community in general
\nwas moving into a new era of globalization.<\/p>\n
\"Our enemy is not the relationship, not the country and not
\nthe difference (of political systems). Our enemy is the policy of
\nbelligerence,\" Peres told a group of visiting Indonesian
\njournalists at the Knesset, or Israeli parliament.<\/p>\n
He said that changing a status of war into friendship does not
\nmean changing the nature of differences or culture and tradition.<\/p>\n
Making friendship and peace, said Peres, a former Israeli
\nprime minister and winner of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, was like
\nfalling in love. It required one to close a little bit of one's
\neyes and not to try to see one's partner in full and immediately
\nsince it was the secret of maintaining a partnership.<\/p>\n
\"I know that President (Abdurrahman) Wahid has to change so
\nmany things and that his agenda is so heavy,\" he said, adding
\nthat the establishment of ties between his country and Indonesia
\nshould take place amicably and gradually so that it would benefit
\nboth the Indonesian and Israeli people.<\/p>\n
Other politicians in the Knesset, including Likud party
\nopposition leader Gideon Ezra and representative of the Arab
\nminority Hashem Mahameed, supported Peres' idea, saying that
\nfriendly relations of the two countries could help strengthen
\nworld peace.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia can play an important role in helping settle
\nconflicts in the Middle East,\" said Minister of Community Affairs
\nMichael Merchior.<\/p>\n
Ezra said that through friendly ties and exchange of
\ncommunication, he expected Indonesia would better understand what
\nIsrael had done for the Palestinian people and that the Jakarta
\ngovernment would not always blame the Jewish people on the
\nPalestinian issue.<\/p>\n
\"We believe the Palestinian and Israeli people live together
\nin peace here, and every one of us can go to their holy places
\npeacefully.\" He said most Islamic countries, including Indonesia,
\ndid not blame Palestinian militants when they used their smuggled
\narms against the Jewish people.<\/p>\n
Another diplomat, who preferred anonymity, said he could not
\nunderstand why Indonesians harbored animosity against Israel
\nwhile people in several Middle Eastern, predominantly Muslim
\nnations like Egypt, Jordan, Algeria and Morocco and even the
\nPalestinians had extended friendship to the Jewish state.<\/p>\n
\"It's true that we are not always right. But we are not always
\nwrong, either.\" He stressed that Israel, a tiny nation surrounded
\nby big, hostile countries, had to undertake military operations
\nat times to maintain its survival and ensure the security and
\nsafety of its citizens.<\/p>\n
Members of the Israeli business community, meanwhile, pointed
\nout that having economic relations did not necessarily begin with
\ntrade but could come about through cooperation in various
\nprojects. They cited examples such as the building of
\ninfrastructure and the development of agriculture and high
\ntechnology in defense and telecommunications fields that could
\nbenefit both parties.<\/p>\n
A leading Israeli electronics company producing components for
\nmilitary and commercial applications, Tadiran, did in fact take
\npart in the tender offered by the Indonesian Directorate General
\nfor Post and Telecommunications for the expansion and improvement
\nof the radio monitoring system.<\/p>\n
\"The economic relations should be best developed by holding
\njoint ventures and not trade,\" said Amir Hayek, the director
\ngeneral of the Tel Aviv-based Israel Export Institute, which
\noversees more than 2,500 companies and represents 95 percent of
\nIsraeli exporters.<\/p>\n
The director of Israel's international trade relations
\ndivision, Mandy Barak, said Israeli businesspeople expressed
\ntheir interest in importing Indonesia's palm oil, plywood and
\nfurniture, and that more Indonesian commodities were expected to
\nenter Israel's market once trade offices were set up in the two
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
\"So now, the ball is in Indonesia's hands,\" Barak said,
\nreferring to the possibility of opening trade offices. He also
\nsaid the planned visit by Indonesian businesspeople to Israel in
\nMarch could bring better understanding between the two peoples.<\/p>\n
Compared to their country's politicians, the Israeli
\nbusinesspeople appeared to understand more of the Indonesian
\nsituation and aspirations in believing the Jakarta government had
\nnothing against the Jewish state and people. The main obstacle to
\nIndonesia opening ties with Israel is because of Jakarta's
\nadherence to its anticolonialist stance, as stipulated in the
\n1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
Given all this and the fact that there are many more urgent
\ninternal political and economic problems that Indonesia will have
\nto cope with in the short term to maintain its fledgling
\ndemocratic government, it is obvious that relations with Israel
\nwill remain in the balance for some time.<\/p>\n
Although the journey to diplomatic ties is still far off, a
\nsignpost pointing toward more understanding and friendly
\nrelations between the two countries has nevertheless been
\nestablished.<\/p>\n
The writer is a journalist.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/israeli-indonesian-ties-still-a-long-way-to-go-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }