A Lesson in Contrasts

There is a weird backstory behind this article. I sent this thing during Idul Fitri and didn't hear anything about this. Then I found out that the article was actually published under Jamil Maidan Flores and later wrongly corrected to Oei Eng Goan.

Mr. Jamil Maidan Flores himself was kind enough to send this email to the editor:

I just noticed (just a minute ago) that on the internet edition of the Jakarta Globe, there is an article that appeared under my name that is titled "A Lesson in Contrasts" and datelined 04 September. It's a great article, I agree with its contents and I wish I had written it, but I did not. That means that the real author has been inadvertently done an injustice and I am depending on you and the Jakarta Globe organization to make the proper rectification and amends. Warmest regards.

Well, I would chalk this out under the "things you accidentally did when you were in a hangover after gorging yourself silly during Ramadhan."

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A Lesson in Contrasts
Yohanes Sulaiman | September 04, 2012

Among many Indonesians, Jews and Israel are seen as public enemy number one. Many discussions on the rapacity of capitalism end up with blaming Jews. They are seen as the masters of capitalism, the hands behind the United States’ policy on Indonesia and the source of all evils currently besetting Indonesia. 

This idea gained support during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad declared George Soros and other speculators to be the culprits of the currency crisis and financial turmoil of 1997. When the crisis ended up toppling Suharto in 1998, many Indonesians bought the idea: There was a global conspiracy, paid for by the Jews, to undermine Indonesia, which, not incidentally, was and is the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. 

Jews and Israel are the ultimate bogeymen, for those who buy the conspiracy. They occupy Palestine, treat the Arabs and the Palestinians inhumanely, and thus should be the enemy of all Muslims, the theory goes. 

A recent incident would seem to confirm that belief. Last month, Jamal Julani, an Israeli Arab from East Jerusalem, was on his way to meet a friend when he was savagely beaten by a bunch of Jewish teens. The police said about 10 to 15 youngsters were involved in the beating. 

What happened after that, however, should give pause. The Israeli police did not beat around the bush, bluntly stating that it was a hate crime. In the next few days, the police arrested seven teens suspected of involvement in the beating. Within a few days, an Israeli court indicted nine teens for their involvement in the beating. 

In the meantime, Israeli politicians rushed to condemn the beating. President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly condemned it, with the latter stating that: “In the state of Israel, we are not prepared to tolerate racism. … This is not our way. … We will quickly bring to justice those responsible for this reprehensible incident.” Israeli schools engaged in soul searching, trying to figure out what had gone wrong within the education system. 

No excuse, no justification for the youths’ despicable act. It was considered a crime, plain and simple. 

The handling of the Sampang incident in Madura, however, is a study in contrasts. The police failed to protect the Shia community, even though there had already been two attacks on it. Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Alie, while condemning the attack, also played down the seriousness of the incident, calling it a “family conflict.” 

He also publicly proclaimed Shia to be a deviant sect, bringing into question his seriousness and impartiality in handling the incident. Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, having visited Sampang to investigate, also decided there wasn’t much going on. 

In the meantime, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) declared the Sampang incident to be a communal conflict. 

Arguably the only bright spot in the entire incident was President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s expression of regret over the violence, berating the intelligence services for their failure to detect the attack and calling for stern punishment against the perpetrators. 

At least the president was acknowledging the fact that there was something bad going on in Indonesia, unlike his usual silence on attacks against minorities, such as the ongoing persecution of the Ahmadiyah and church closures such as those of GKI Yasmin and HKBP Filadelfia. 

Indonesia has claimed to be the most tolerant nation in the world and has fought for Palestinian rights against Israeli imperialism. However, its handling of the Sampang incident is pathetic compared with how Israel, which Indonesia has always seen as the biggest violator of human rights, handled the Jamal Julani incident. 

Indonesian lawmakers should consider paying a visit to Israel to learn how to handle communal conflicts. It would be money well spent.