Indonesia on Palestinian Destiny: Perspectives from the Government and Scholars

The editorial in this issue highlights Indonesia's position towards Palestine, both from the policies taken by the government and from various publications by Indonesian scholars. The Indonesian government has long tended to support Palestine as an independent country. Historically, before being occupied by Israel, Palestine has supported Indonesian independence, and Indonesia has consistently supported Palestinian independence efforts. Academically, several publications from Indonesian scholars have highlighted many aspects of Palestinian peace and independence efforts.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a rocket attack on Israel from Gaza.Israel launched a counteroffensive, ordering a total blockade of Gaza and initiating a ground offensive into the Palestinian enclave.By the end of February 2024, the death toll of the Palestinian population reached almost 30,000, and the number of injuries reached 70,000.Most victims were women and children.In addition, more than 80 journalists and media workers have died because of the war (France 24, 2024) Since independence, Indonesia has held a firm stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Indonesia, which has experienced colonialism, feels that independence from Palestine is an inevitability that must be realized.Moreover, one year before the proclamation of independence, the grand mufti of Palestine, Sheikh Muhammad Amin Al-Husaini, provided open support for Indonesia's struggle for independence.At the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference, Indonesia, as the host, invited Palestine even though, at that time, it had not been recognized as an independent country (Hassan, 1980;Sekretariat Jenderal DPR RI, 2021;Wibowo, 2021).
Indonesia's first president, Soekarno, was also firm in supporting Palestinian independence through various statements.In 1962, he said that as long as the independence of the Palestinian people had not been handed over to the Palestinian people, so long as the Indonesians stood up to challenge Israeli colonialism.In July 1957, the Indonesian men's national football team refused to compete with Israel for the opportunity to participate in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.President Soekarno was behind this rejection because he was reluctant to recognize Israel as a country (Anggraeni, 2023;Muin, 2021).
Indonesia's position to date remains the same and is even more firm in supporting independent Palestine.In response to Israel's latest attack on Gaza, Indonesia actively condemns crimes against humanity committed by Israel and demands a ceasefire and restoration of the rights of Palestinians (Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia, 2023).Moreover, Indonesia also sued Israel at the International Court of Justice to colonize Palestinian land.This was done by Indonesia following South Africa's move, which previously sued Israel at the International Court of Justice for the genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip (Musthafa, 2024).
Indonesian intellectuals also have an interest in Palestine, as reflected in the various journal articles they have published.Several studies have analyzed Palestinian and Israeli problems in terms of the history of the conflict (F.Firdaus et al., 2020), peace efforts (Badjodah et al., 2021), obstacles that have occurred (A.Y. Firdaus & Yani, 2020), to human rights issues (Putra et al., 2023;Romadhony et al., 2024;Situmorang, 2024), media coverage (Ramadani et al., 2024), and the impof the conflict on other countries, including Indonesia (Simanjorang et al., 2023).In general, Indonesian intellectuals have paid great attention to Palestine as a form of humanitarian solidarity and a commitment to Indonesia's position.

This Issue
This issue features 15 articles with authors from abroad: Malaysia, Qatar, Jordan, Iraq, Sweden, and Uganda.In this issue, the editorial team has expanded to include scholars from Malaysia, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.This addition is expected to maintain and improve the quality of the journal publications.The topics covered in this issue include Islamic studies, Christian studies, and Judaism studies.

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Millah Vol. 23, No. 1, February 2024 . Various responses have emerged regarding the actions Indonesia on Palestinian Destiny Millah Vol. 23, No. 1, February 2024| xiii carried out by Israel, including Indonesia.The boycott movement for products related to Israel has been intensively studied.Additionally, humanitarian fundraising was carried out to help the victims in Gaza.