Indonesian Ulama Council urges government to protect consumers from Israeli products
JAKARTA: The Indonesian Ulama Council on Tuesday called on the government to protect consumers from products linked to Israel, as imports have increased despite the absence of diplomatic ties between Jakarta and Tel Aviv.
Indonesia has been among the most vocal countries in demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and an end to international military aid and arms sales to Tel Aviv, especially since the start of the deadly Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Campaigns calling for boycotts of companies with direct or perceived links to Israeli institutions have also been regular events in the country, where many people see Palestinian statehood as a mandate under their constitution.
In this context, many were shocked when the latest data from the country's Central Bureau of Statistics showed increasing economic ties with Israel, with imports to Indonesia reaching more than $35 million between January and May.
Although the amount is not significant in Indonesia's total trade volume, it is almost four times higher than the $8.85 million recorded in the same period in 2023 and surpasses last year's total of $21.9 million. The official data also showed that exports to Israel from Indonesia in May had reached more than $66 million.
The growing trading volume made national headlines earlier this month, prompting the government to act.
While the Foreign Ministry declined to comment on matters related to trade, and the Commerce Ministry did not respond to questions about commercial ties with Israel, Indonesia's Ulema Council, or MUI, the country's top religious body, said trade ties “must be stopped.”
MUI's chairman for foreign relations, Dr. Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, told Arab News that the government must protect Indonesian consumers according to current laws.
“We have the Consumer Protection Law, so the government should follow it to protect consumers from Israeli products, whatever they are,” he said.
Weeks after the start of Israel's invasion, the MUI issued a fatwa, or religious decree, banning Indonesian Muslims from buying products that had any links to Israel.
“Any trade will certainly bring profits, and regardless of the value of our imports from Israel, of course there are profits involved. This economic profit is what could potentially play an important role in funding Israel's main programs right now,” Hakim said. Since Israel's current main agenda is to end Palestine, let's not support it.”
Israel's ground and air strikes over the past nine months have killed more than 39,000 Palestinian citizens in Gaza, according to official estimates, although a study published in the journal Lancet earlier this month estimated that the actual death toll could reach over 186,000 people.
“The existence of trade links, especially their growth, gives space for Israel to try other channels for relations with Indonesia, and that is dangerous. It will weaken Indonesia's spirit in defending Palestine.”
Members of Indonesia's civil society have also called on the government to end trade relations with Israel.
“For me, this is a hypocritical double standard. On the one hand, the government condemns the Zionist genocide and calls for a ceasefire, but continues with trade relations on the other hand, Muhammad Anshorullah of the Jakarta-based Aqsa Working Group told Arab News.
“I call on the government … to also take decisive steps … to stop trade relations with Zionist Israel.”
Cecep Jasim, who coordinated a march of thousands for Gaza in West Java last November, said commercial ties with Israel contradicted Indonesia's stance on Palestine.
“We call for a halt to all trade activities with Israel… The government must firmly refuse any kind of relationship with Zionist Israel, so that Indonesia will not be seen to have a foot in both camps for its own gain,” he said.
The Indonesian chapter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which calls for economic and trade pressure in opposition to Israel, also protested Indonesia-Israel trade ties.
“BDS rejects Indonesia's trade relations with Israel in all its forms, that is clear. We demand that the Ministry of Trade put a stop to it… Considering the growing volume, this is extremely regrettable, especially as it is happening in the middle of an ongoing genocide, such growth should not happen and it must be corrected, ” BDS Indonesia Head, Muhammad Syauqi Hafiz, told Arab News.
“Indonesia should not be satisfied with its existing stance, it is not enough. There must be more, a political escalation to also try to stop Israel, not just to defend Palestine. That is how it should be if Indonesia is sincere in its commitments.”
Media Wahyu Askar, director of public policy at the Center of Economic and Law Studies, said Indonesia was not dependent on Israeli products and could find substitutes from other countries.
“The government should seriously consider the calls to boycott products connected to Israel and even products from Israel, because such calls for boycotts are extremely effective in pressuring the private sector to stop working with Israel,” he told Arab News, adding that it “would not have a significant negative impact on the Indonesian economy.”
Indonesia's imports between January and May 2024 were worth about $91 billion, meaning that imports from Israel – most of which were through third countries – accounted for less than 0.05 percent.
But for Israel, Indonesia has a “strategic value,” Askar said.
“In the coming years, it is expected that Israel will continue to find ways to influence Indonesia's political economy and normalize trade relations to gain global influence,” he said.
