Indonesian Ulama Council urges government to protect consumers from Israeli products

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Ulama Council called on the government on Tuesday to protect consumers from products linked with Israel, as imports have grown despite there being no diplomatic relations between Jakarta and Tel Aviv.

Indonesia has been among the most vocal countries in demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and a stop to international military support and weapons sales to Tel Aviv, especially since the beginning of the deadly Israeli invasion of Gaza. 

Campaigns calling for the boycott of companies that have direct or presumed links with Israeli institutions have also been regular events in the country, where many people see Palestinian statehood as mandated by their constitution.

In this context, many were shocked when the latest data from the country’s Central Statistics Agency showed increasing economic ties with Israel, with imports to Indonesia amounting to more than $35 million between January and May.  

While the amount is not significant in Indonesia’s overall trade volume, it is nearly 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 exports to Israel from Indonesia had by May reached more than $66 million.

The growing trade volume made national headlines earlier this month, prompting calls on the government to act. 

While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on matters relating to trade, and the Ministry of Trade did not respond to questions on commercial relations with Israel, the Indonesian Ulema Council, or MUI, which is the top religious body in the country, said that the trade links “must be stopped.”

The MUI’s chair of foreign relations, Dr. Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, told Arab News that the government must protect Indonesian consumers under the existing laws. 

“We have the Consumer Protection Law, so the government should follow it to protect consumers from Israeli products, whatever they may be,” he said. 

Weeks after the beginning of Israel’s invasion, the MUI issued a fatwa, or a religious decree, prohibiting Indonesian Muslims from buying products that had any links to Israel.

“Any trade will surely yield profits, and whatever the value of our import from Israel, of course there are profits involved. This financial gain 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 finish Palestine, let’s not support that.” 

Israel’s ground and air attacks in the past nine months have killed more than 39,000 Palestinian citizens in Gaza, according to official estimates, though a study published in the Lancet journal earlier this month estimated the actual death toll could reach in excess of 186,000 people. 

“The existence of trade relations, especially their growth, gives room for Israel to try other channels of relations with Indonesia, and that is dangerous. It will weaken Indonesia’s spirit in defending Palestine.”

Members of Indonesia’s civil society have also been calling on the government to halt trade ties with Israel. 

“For me, this is a hypocritical double standard. On the one hand, the government is condemning the zionist’s genocide and urging for a ceasefire, but continuing with trade relations on the other,” Muhammad Anshorullah from the Jakarta-based Aqsa Working Group, told Arab News.

“I am urging the government … to also take firm steps … stop trade ties with zionist Israel.”

Cecep Jasim, who coordinated a thousands-strong march for Gaza in West Java last November, said that commercial ties with Israel contradicted Indonesia’s stance on Palestine. 

“We urge a stop to all trade activities with Israel … The government must firmly refuse all kinds of relations with zionist Israel, so that Indonesia will not be seen as having a foot in both camps for their 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 against Indonesia-Israel trade ties. 

“BDS rejects Indonesia’s trade relations with Israel in all its forms, that’s clear. We demand that the Ministry of Trade put an end to it… With regard to the growing volume, this is extremely regrettable, especially as it is happening in the middle of an ongoing genocide, such growth should not be happening and it must be corrected,” BDS Indonesia head, Muhammad Syauqi Hafiz, told Arab News. 

“Indonesia shouldn’t be satisfied with its existing stance, it’s not enough. There must be more, a policy escalation to also try and stop Israel, not just merely defending Palestine. That’s 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 that Indonesia was not dependent on Israeli products and could find substitutes from other countries.

“The government should seriously consider the calls to boycott products affiliated with Israel and even products from Israel, because such calls for boycott are extremely effective to pressure the private sector to stop working with Israel,” he told Arab News, adding that it “would not have any significant negative impact on the Indonesian economy.”

Indonesia’s imports between January and May 2024 were worth about $91 billion, which means imports from Israel — most of which took place through third countries — made up less than 0.05 percent.

But for Israel, Indonesia has a “strategic value,” Askar said. 

“In the next few years, it is expected that Israel will continue to find ways to influence Indonesia’s political economy and normalize trade relations in order to gain global influence,” he said.