Indonesian Ulama Council calls on government to protect consumers from Israeli products
Jakarta: The Indonesian Ulama Council has called on the government to protect consumers from products linked to Israel as imports surge despite the lack of diplomatic ties between Jakarta and Tel Aviv.
Indonesia has been a vocal advocate for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestine and for an end to international military support, including arms sales, to Tel Aviv, especially since the start of Israel's deadly invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Campaigns calling for a boycott of companies with direct or purported ties to Israeli institutions are also common in the country, where many see Palestinian statehood as enshrined in its constitution.
In this context, many were shocked when the latest data from the country's Central Bureau of Statistics showed growing economic ties with Israel, with imports to Indonesia worth more than $35 million between January and May.
Although the value is small compared to Indonesia's overall trade volume, it is almost four times higher than the $8.85 million in the same period in 2023 and surpassed last year's total of $21.9 million. Official data also showed that Indonesia's exports to Israel hit more than $66 million in May.
The surge in trade volumes made national headlines earlier this month, prompting calls for government action.
Although the foreign ministry declined to comment on trade-related matters and the trade ministry did not respond to questions about trade relations with Israel, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s top religious body, said trade relations “must end.”
Dr. Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, MUI's head of international relations, told Arab News that the government must protect Indonesian consumers under existing laws.
“We have consumer protection laws, so the government should follow them to protect consumers from Israeli products, no matter what kind of products they are,” he said.
Weeks after Israel began its invasion, the Muslim Independence Unit (MUI) issued a religious edict, or order, banning Muslims in Indonesia from buying any goods linked to Israel.
“Any trade has profits, and no matter how much the imports from Israel are, there is always profit involved. This financial profit could play a major role in funding Israel’s current major projects,” Hakim said. “Since Israel’s current main agenda is to finish the administration of Palestine, we should not support it.”
Israeli ground and air strikes over the past nine months have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to official estimates. However, a study published in The Lancet earlier this month estimated the real death toll could be higher than 186,000.
“Trade relations, especially growth, give Israel the opportunity to try other channels to build relations with Indonesia, which is dangerous and will weaken Indonesia’s spirit of defending Palestine,”
Members of the Indonesian civil society have also called on the government to halt trade relations with Israel.
“To me, this is a hypocritical double standard. On the one hand, the government is condemning the Zionist genocide and calling for a ceasefire, but at the same time continuing trade relations,” Mohammad Anchorullah of the Jakarta-based Aqsa Working Group told Arab News.
“I call on the government to … take decisive action … to stop trade relations with Israel, which is a Zionist group,”
Cecep Jasim, who coordinated a march of thousands of people to the Gaza Strip in West Java in November, said commercial relations with Israel conflicted with Indonesia's position on Palestine.
“We call for an end to all trade activities with Israel … The government must firmly reject all forms of relations with Zionist Israel so that Indonesia is not seen as complicit in both sides for its own benefit,” he said.
The Indonesian branch of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which calls for economic and trade pressure against Israel, also protested Indonesia's trade relations with Israel.
“BDS rejects all forms of trade relations between Indonesia and Israel. We call on the trade ministry to end this… In terms of the volume of growth, this is very regrettable, especially when this happens amidst the ongoing genocide. Such growth should not have happened and must be corrected,” Mohammad Siyaki Hafiz, head of BDS Indonesia, told Arab News.
“Indonesia should not be satisfied with its current position. It is not enough. It needs to do more, expand its policy to try to stop Israel, not just protect Palestine. That is what it should be if Indonesia is sincere about its commitments.”
Dr. Media Waheu Asgar, director of public policy at the Center for Economic and Legal Studies, said Indonesia does not rely on Israeli products and can find alternatives from other countries.
“The government should seriously consider the call to boycott Israeli-related products and even Israeli products, as such boycotts are very effective in pressuring the private sector to stop working with Israel,” he told Arab News, adding that such actions “will not have any significant negative impact on the Indonesian economy.”
Indonesia's imports from January to May 2024 were valued at around $91 billion, meaning that imports from Israel, which mostly occurred through third countries, accounted for less than 0.05 percent.
But for Israel, Indonesia has “strategic value,” Asgar said.
“In the coming years, Israel is expected to continue to find ways to influence Indonesia’s political economy and normalize trade relations to build global influence,” he said.
