The decision by US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and eventually move the US Embassy to the heavily disputed city has had major political ramifications throughout the world, including Indonesia.
Trump’s Jerusalem decision was sharply criticized by just about every major Indonesian politician, from President Joko Widodo to deputy house speaker and (former) Trump fanboy Fadli Zon. But beyond words of condemnation, there are also several Indonesian political factions now calling for the country to actively boycott US products to punish Trump’s actions.
“The people have a way of (showing their condemnation) on their own. So let the people do so by boycotting American and Israeli products,” said Reni Marlinawati, chairperson of the United Development Party (PPP) during a session at the House of Representatives yesterday as quoted by Kumparan.
The PPP faction was joined in their call for Trump’s decision to be punished politically and economically by the National Mandate Party (PAN). PAN Vice Chairman Hanafi Rais said Trump’s decision “hurt the hearts of Muslims around the world”, especially Indonesia in Indonesia, and encouraged Muslims here and around the world to boycott American products.
Hanafi went even further, arguing that the Indonesian government should end cooperation with the United States over the Jerusalem decision.
“Conduct an embargo of cooperation for this insult to Islamic nations,” he said yesterday as quoted by Tribun.
Unsurprisingly, Indonesia’s most outspoken Islamic hardliner organization, the infamous Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) also called for a boycott America. FPI spokesperson Slamet Maarif said a mass boycott would hurt US economic growth and provide a deterrent effect by showing that the American economy could be influenced by Muslims in Indonesia.
“It would give a lesson to the US, that they might be aware that the US economy can also be affected by Muslims,” Slamet told CNN Indonesia today.
The FPI has also demanded that President Joko Widodo sever ties with the US and expel the country’s ambassador from Indonesia.
US ambassador Joseph Donovan was called to meet with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi yesterday to clarify the US government’s position on Israel and he reiterated that the US remained committed to the peace process despite Trump’s controversial decision. Donovan was forced to issue another clarification today after an earlier embassy release stated that the US government had actually consulted with Indonesia before making the Jerusalem decision, an error he blamed on a mistranslation.
Jerusalem is one of the most fiercely contested cities in the world, owing to millennia-old disputes between religions over the region. The city is the holiest site in Judaism as well as being home to one of the three sacred mosques in Islam, the Madjid al-Aqsa. Politically, both Israelis and Palestinians claim Jerusalem to be their capital, though neither claim has so far been widely recognized internationally.
Indonesia enjoys strong diplomatic relations with Palestine — Indonesia being one of the first countries to recognize the struggling Islamic nation as an independent state.
Steeve says
Boycott American products? Does Slamet Maarif mean boycott social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc)? Will the FPI boycott social media in response to Trump’s announcement because the biggest ones are American? (Forget about Wechat and Weibo – they are Chinese!)
In 2016 the US only exported about 6 billion dollars worth of goods to Indonesia. That’s less than 50% of what the US imported from Indonesia. The New York City Public School budget is 24 billion dollars for the 2017-2018 school year.
Boycotting makes one feel good, but it is not always effective. I encourage everyone who really cares about this topic to explore other means that may be more effective.