Israeli-Indonesian ties: Still a long way to go

Israeli-Indonesian ties: Still a long way to go

By Oei Eng Goan

JERUSALEM (JP): Unless Israel achieves a breakthrough in its
peace talks with its Arab foes and acknowledges the permanent
status of an independent Palestinian nation, the Jewish state can
hardly materialize its wish to have trade and diplomatic
relations with Indonesia.

Israel has shown its keen interest in having friendly
relations with Indonesia after President Abdurrahman Wahid hinted
last October that he planned to establish economic ties with the
Israeli government.

Abdurrahman, however, retracted his controversial plan
following protests and pressure from several Islamic groups,
including many Muslim scholars from the Nahdlatul Ulama social
organization which he once chaired.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country by population,
has consistently supported the Arab states in their conflicts
with Israel and has never recognized the existence of the Jewish
state.

Responding to Abdurrahman's controversial gesture, Israeli
Minister for Regional Cooperation Shimon Peres said recently that
he saw no reason why Indonesia and Israel could not become good
friends, as the two countries were never involved in a conflict.
He noted it was especially true now the Jakarta government had
moved toward democracy and the international community in general
was moving into a new era of globalization.

"Our enemy is not the relationship, not the country and not
the difference (of political systems). Our enemy is the policy of
belligerence," Peres told a group of visiting Indonesian
journalists at the Knesset, or Israeli parliament.

He said that changing a status of war into friendship does not
mean changing the nature of differences or culture and tradition.

Making friendship and peace, said Peres, a former Israeli
prime minister and winner of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, was like
falling in love. It required one to close a little bit of one's
eyes and not to try to see one's partner in full and immediately
since it was the secret of maintaining a partnership.

"I know that President (Abdurrahman) Wahid has to change so
many things and that his agenda is so heavy," he said, adding
that the establishment of ties between his country and Indonesia
should take place amicably and gradually so that it would benefit
both the Indonesian and Israeli people.

Other politicians in the Knesset, including Likud party
opposition leader Gideon Ezra and representative of the Arab
minority Hashem Mahameed, supported Peres' idea, saying that
friendly relations of the two countries could help strengthen
world peace.

"Indonesia can play an important role in helping settle
conflicts in the Middle East," said Minister of Community Affairs
Michael Merchior.

Ezra said that through friendly ties and exchange of
communication, he expected Indonesia would better understand what
Israel had done for the Palestinian people and that the Jakarta
government would not always blame the Jewish people on the
Palestinian issue.

"We believe the Palestinian and Israeli people live together
in peace here, and every one of us can go to their holy places
peacefully." He said most Islamic countries, including Indonesia,
did not blame Palestinian militants when they used their smuggled
arms against the Jewish people.

Another diplomat, who preferred anonymity, said he could not
understand why Indonesians harbored animosity against Israel
while people in several Middle Eastern, predominantly Muslim
nations like Egypt, Jordan, Algeria and Morocco and even the
Palestinians had extended friendship to the Jewish state.

"It's true that we are not always right. But we are not always
wrong, either." He stressed that Israel, a tiny nation surrounded
by big, hostile countries, had to undertake military operations
at times to maintain its survival and ensure the security and
safety of its citizens.

Members of the Israeli business community, meanwhile, pointed
out that having economic relations did not necessarily begin with
trade but could come about through cooperation in various
projects. They cited examples such as the building of
infrastructure and the development of agriculture and high
technology in defense and telecommunications fields that could
benefit both parties.

A leading Israeli electronics company producing components for
military and commercial applications, Tadiran, did in fact take
part in the tender offered by the Indonesian Directorate General
for Post and Telecommunications for the expansion and improvement
of the radio monitoring system.

"The economic relations should be best developed by holding
joint ventures and not trade," said Amir Hayek, the director
general of the Tel Aviv-based Israel Export Institute, which
oversees more than 2,500 companies and represents 95 percent of
Israeli exporters.

The director of Israel's international trade relations
division, Mandy Barak, said Israeli businesspeople expressed
their interest in importing Indonesia's palm oil, plywood and
furniture, and that more Indonesian commodities were expected to
enter Israel's market once trade offices were set up in the two
countries.

"So now, the ball is in Indonesia's hands," Barak said,
referring to the possibility of opening trade offices. He also
said the planned visit by Indonesian businesspeople to Israel in
March could bring better understanding between the two peoples.

Compared to their country's politicians, the Israeli
businesspeople appeared to understand more of the Indonesian
situation and aspirations in believing the Jakarta government had
nothing against the Jewish state and people. The main obstacle to
Indonesia opening ties with Israel is because of Jakarta's
adherence to its anticolonialist stance, as stipulated in the
1945 Constitution.

Given all this and the fact that there are many more urgent
internal political and economic problems that Indonesia will have
to cope with in the short term to maintain its fledgling
democratic government, it is obvious that relations with Israel
will remain in the balance for some time.

Although the journey to diplomatic ties is still far off, a
signpost pointing toward more understanding and friendly
relations between the two countries has nevertheless been
established.

The writer is a journalist.