Crescent International
Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, was to host FIFA’s 2023 Under-20 soccer World Cup series.
When Jakarta announced it will not allow the apartheid Israeli regime’s team to participate in the event on its territory, FIFA cancelled Indonesia’s hosting of the games.
This was reported by the Washington-based news outlet al-monitor.com on March 29.
News of anticipated Israeli participation in the FIFA event sparked demonstrations in Indonesia whose population is very sympathetic to the Palestinian people suffering under a brutal zionist occupation.
In January 2022 the diplomat reported that “a survey conducted in May 2021 by SMRC, a well-known polling agency in Indonesia, found that an overwhelming majority (71 percent) of respondents agreed that Israel was responsible for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Recent protests against Israel have also not gone unnoticed by Indonesian politicians.
According to the British daily, the Guardian, the “governor of Bali refused to host Israel team for World Cup draw.”
Although Indonesia’s rejection of Israel is mainly symbolic at this point, the country has the potential to become a global leader for the Palestinian cause.
If local and international Muslim activists lobby the Indonesian government to take a more pro-active anti-Israeli stance, the zionist regime could face significant economic challenges in Asia.
Indonesia is one of the key global markets in Asia and it can curtail Israel’s economic activities in that vital region if it takes a principled stance on boycotting Israeli products.
Indonesia’s active curtailment of Israeli economic activities in Asia could have significant repercussions for the economy of the illegal zionist entity.
As the world’s fourth most populous country, Indonesia is also a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-member grouping of countries.
Their combined population is 660 million and annual gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $3.2 trillion in 2022.
If Indonesia were to restrict import of Israeli products, it could limit the zionist entity’s access to the Asian market reducing its overall exports considerably.
The Palestinian diaspora and pro-Palestinian activists seem to have overlooked tapping into the sympathies of the Indonesian society and political establishment.
As the world’s economic and political gravity is slowly shifting towards Asia, pro-Palestinian grassroots organizations should begin to focus on positioning Palestine as a key foreign policy issue for Indonesia.
It is not far-fetched to imagine that a predominantly Muslim society with an electoral political system is more likely to pay heed to the call for support of the Palestinian cause than any other country.
It can provide more support than many west European countries that have an inherent bias against Palestinians and lean toward zionist Israel despite a long sordid history of anti-semitism.
Globally important decisions are no longer made solely in NATO capitals.
Pro-Palestinian activists should realize Indonesia’s great potential and catch up with contemporary realities.
Indonesian president Abdur Rahman Wahid raised eyebrows on December 4 when he told his new economic affairs commission that Israel had agree...
