Ties with Israel and gay rights<\/p>\n
The question of \"warming\" relations between Indonesia and
\nIsrael is an artificial one. There is no reason on earth why
\nIndonesia should keep its distance from Israel when many Arab
\ncountries, including major ones like Egypt and also the
\nPalestinians themselves, have already recognized Israel and
\nestablished cooperation with the state. Indonesia should not be
\nexpected to be \"more Catholic than the Pope\", but should
\ncarefully calculate its own national interests.<\/p>\n
There is another angle of looking at this whole question.
\nMost, if not all, new democratic governments which try to improve
\ntheir image in Western capitals resort to one or both of the
\nfollowing measures (of course, among many others):<\/p>\n
* Improving relations with Israel<\/p>\n
* Legalizing the status of homosexuals.<\/p>\n
Both of the above are basically symbolic, they do not cost
\nmuch and they both send a strong message of new openness and new
\nfreedoms. And Western countries are prone to mark these gestures
\npositively.<\/p>\n
A different question altogether is how well the local
\npopulation accepts the new course. It takes time and patience,
\nespecially on individual level (\"It's OK for the government to
\ngrant gay rights, but I'll be damned if I let that guy marry my
\nson!\").<\/p>\n
I suggest that Westerners, before judging others, also perform
\nthis self-test to gauge how open-minded and liberal they really
\nare: if they could help it, would they let their son marry that
\nboy?<\/p>\n
BRANIMIR SALEVIC<\/p>\n
Tangerang, West Java<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ties-with-israel-and-gay-rights-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }