Helping the Palestinians while cleaning our home

Helping the Palestinians while cleaning our home

Kornelius Purba, Jerusalem

What is the relation between the Acehnese and the
Palestinians?

"Look at the TV news. Then you can talk about the injustices
faced by the Palestinians," an Israeli national bluntly replied
when asked by an Indonesian about the human rights abuses
committed by the Israelis against the Palestinians during a
conversation in Galilee. At that time, in its breaking news
briefs, the BBC quoted Amnesty International as urging Indonesia
to stop human rights abuses in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

What was probably on the tip of the Israeli man's tongue was:
"Mind your own business. Clean up your own home before you clean
up others." Needless to say, the conversation ran its course and
the curious Indonesian fled, red-faced.

To a certain extent, his opinion was right. The Acehnese,
nearly all of whom are devout Muslims -- have suffered for
decades under the oppression of the central government which, in
the name of maintaining the territorial integrity of Indonesia,
brutally oppressed those in the province who demanded justice.
But who cares about them? Probably, if the same question was
raised to a Palestinian, he would similarly reply, "By stopping
the abuses against the Acehnese, your nation, and also yourself,
you are indirectly helping us, the Palestinians."

When we were about to arrive at the Mount of Olives, just
behind the Old City in East Jerusalem and at the Garden of
Getshemane, the tour guide and the bus driver repeatedly
warned,"Be careful of Palestinian pickpockets!" The guide then
explained that it was highly likely that the Israeli police
allowed the pickpockets free rein, "because it will tarnish the
image of Palestinians, and they could also use them as their
spies."

However, the guide -- an European national with 12 years of
experience in Israel -- also insisted that pilgrims shop in
Bethlehem rather than Jerusalem. "The Palestinians suffer as the
tourist industry has faltered since 2000. Your money is very
precious to the Palestinians at this difficult time." In Jericho
-- which along with Bethlehem belongs to Palestine, but is
strongly controlled by the Israeli military -- a restaurant owner
said we were his first guests in nearly a year.

As the world is haunted by terrorist attacks, particularly
since the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, the number of tourists to
the Holy Land has sharply declined.

Of course, it would be ridiculous of an ordinary pilgrim --
who was in town for a week and knows little about the history of
the Middle East -- to make hasty judgments over the very
complicated Israeli-Palestinian relations.

But by witnessing, as an outsider, the living conditions of
the Palestinians in the West Bank area, and Jerusalem -- and the
way the Israeli security forces treat them in the streets -- it
is difficult to deny the suffering of the Palestinians under
Israeli oppression. For outsiders, even those with no knowledge
of the Holy Land, the oppression of the Palestinians is a human
rights abuse.

Although we are often told that the Palestinian issue is
nothing to do with religion and, therefore, Indonesian Muslims
should not view the issue with prejudice, according to statistics
most Palestinians are Muslims. So, how can we deny the strong
feeling among Muslims, including in Indonesia, that their Muslim
brothers and sisters are oppressed in Palestine?
It is also difficult to understand, in terms of common sense and
justice, why the United States barely acts to stop these human
rights abuses?

Palestinian leaders, like Yasser Arafat, have often reiterated
that there is no war between Islam and Judaism. That they are
struggling for their independence, and that Palestine is likely
quite secular.
But when Muslims here, or elsewhere in the world, routinely see
TV reports on the fate of the Palestinians, how can solidarity in
the interest of the Palestinian be discouraged? For many
Indonesians, Americans are very vocal when it comes to human
rights violations in East Timor, Papua or in Aceh, but very often
turn a blind eye when the Israelis abuse Palestinians.

Again, of course, this does not mean that Palestine is totally
the innocent side and that Israel should take all the
responsibility for what has happened, and will continue to
happen, with the Palestinians. Israel has the right to defend its
existence. Israelis also continue to be the victims of terrorists
attacks.

This article is not meant to argue along those lines, but
seeks to ask why so many young Indonesian Muslims feel strongly
attached to the Palestinians.

The U.S.'s imbalanced policy has not only triggered anti-
American feeling in Indonesia, and becomes a fertilizer for the
growth of radicalism, but also affected Christians here. For many
ordinary Muslims in Indonesia, Christians are perceived as
pro-Israel, although, Judaism teaches that Jesus Christ is yet to
come! Christ's presence on earth is still awaited, as Jews
believe that the man who was crucified was a pretender, who
claimed to be the Son of God!

As with the Israelis, the Palestinians also have the right to
live in a sovereign state. Our Constitution requires Indonesia to
help liberate any nation that is oppressed or suffers under
colonialism. Not just Muslims, but non-Muslim Indonesians are
supportive of the struggle of the Palestinians to achieve full
independence.

But while our own home is still a mess, and the state has a
long way to go before it can protect its own citizens, why should
the outside world listen to our defense of another nation?

This does not mean that we should hesitate in our efforts to
help the Palestinians, as we shudder at the memory of that
disarray back home. But it would really be something if we could
be upright defenders, with nothing to hide.

The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post. He visited
Israel in October and can be reached purba@thejakartapost.com.