INDONESIAN INTERFAITH LEADERS TO SUPPORT ESTABLISHMENT OF PALESTINE STATE

        The discussions over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are never ending. It is a complex, two-sided conflict.

        The dispute between the two nations has continued since the end of the 19th century to the present.

        Responding to this, the former Indonesian Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, stated that people are becoming jaded by the conflict.

       "Talking about the Palestine-Israel conflict is boring and tiring," he said during the "Gilad Atzmon" book launching in Jakarta over the weekend.

       "I remember that the conflict between Israel and Palestine has
been ongoing since I was in junior high, and at that time I joined a march to protest the Israeli invasion of Palestinian lands and, unfortunately, the conflict is still happening," said Jusuf Kalla.

       Furthermore, this straight-talking Sulawesi-born businessman put
forward that the only way to gain peace between those two nations is
letting them solve their own problems.

       "The world should stop pushing and interfering in the peace bid between these two nations," said Kalla.

       In addition, Kalla stated that both Israel and Palestine want
to live in peace.

       "When I visited Tel Aviv in 2010, I talked to one of Israel's top
officials and he said to me, among all of the countries in the world,
Israel is a country that wants peace the most," Kalla recalled.

       As a Muslim, Jusuf Kalla is apparently more moderate in viewing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

       His opinion is quite different than the stance taken by some interfaith leaders who support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

   
Interfaith leaders stance

  The chairman of the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI), Dr.

    Andreas Y. Wangu, stated his support for the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state.

       "As it is stated in our state constitution, independence is the right of all nations. No nations, including Palestine, can live under the oppression of other nations," he said.

       More importantly, Wangu emphasized that the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict cannot be reduced merely to a matter of certain
religions.

       "The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not about Jews and Muslims. Some people, especially here in Indonesia, tend to conclude that Israel is identical with Christianity and Palestine is identical with
Islam," he said.

       Wangu argued that there are many Christians, too, living in the
Palestinian area and, therefore, such views are not true.

       "We should not shrink this problem to a matter of religions, instead, we should see this in the bigger picture of a human rights matter," he added.

       In line with Wangu, a prominent Indonesian Catholic and humanist
leader, Prof. Franz Magnis-Suseno stated his support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

       "If Palestine cannot be a free state, then there will be no freedom
upon this earth. I believe independence is the right of all nations,"
he said.

       Further, the Poland-born Director of the Philosophy Graduate School
Program of Driyarkara put forward the importance of differentiating
Zionism and Jews.

       "It is not easy to differentiate between Zionism and Jews, however,
people should not generalize those two terms," he said.

       Magnis-Suseno said it is the same when people talk about anti-semitism, the prejudice against Jews, because, according to him, not all semitic people
are Jews.

       "The point is, people should not generalize things," he added.

       Meanwhile, an interfaith leader who represents Islam, Ahmad Syafii
Maarif, spoke of his disappointment about those Arab countries that seem to ignore the conflict.

       "Unfortunately, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is ignored in the Arab countries, but fortunately some Jewish thinkers, themselves, such as Noam Chomsky and Gilad Atzmon, have openly defended the fate of the Palestinians," he said.

        About the Indonesian stance regarding the conflict of Palestine-Israel, Syafii Maarif thought the Indonesian government should look back to the mandate of the 1945 Constitution, which stated that " colonialism in the world should be abolished because it is not in accordance with humanity and justice".

   
Not all Jews are bad

  "Jews are not all bad, there are Jewish intellectuals who, through
their influence, have helped to defend the Palestinian people, such as
Gilad Atzmon," Syafii Maarif said.

       Gilad Atzmon is an eminent figure who is discussed in Ahmad Syafii
Maarif¿s new book. He is a true Jewish leader whose grandfather was a
right-wing leader of Israel¿s terror organization, the Irgun.

       A jazz musician who lives in London, he is now active in a number of activities defending the right of Palestinian freedom.

       "Gilad Atzmon: Critical Notes on the Future of Palestine and Zionism," is a book about the solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict written by Ahmad Syafii Maarif.

       Through his book, Syafii Maarif hopes people can have an understanding of the difference about Zionism and the Jews.

       "It is important so that the perception that all Jews are evil and
an oppressive nation can be straightened out," he said.

       Syafii Maarif added that Gilad is phenomenal leader.

       "He is one of the leaders who propose a 'one state solution' for that prolonged conflict," he noted.