Head of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization urged to resign after inviting a pro-Israel scholar
Yahya Cholil Staquf is being urged to resign after inviting an American academic perceived as pro-Israel, sparking a heated controversy in the country.
Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), has asked its president, Yahya Cholil Staquf, to resign after he invited an American academic perceived as pro-Israel to an internal event in August. The group’s leadership reportedly gave him three days to step down before being officially dismissed.
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NU, which claims nearly 100 million members and supporters, accuses Staquf of having invited a personality “affiliated with an international Zionist network” and also accuses him of financial mismanagement.
An NU official, Najib Azca, confirmed that the decision is linked to the invitation extended to Peter Berkowitz, an American academic and former State Department official, known for his public positions in favor of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. Berkowitz had taken part in an NU seminar in August, where he gave a lecture on the history of Western political thought.
Faced with the controversy, Staquf had issued an apology, explaining that it was a mistake in judgment and that he had not thoroughly checked the academic’s positions. He also condemned what he described as Israel’s “brutal and genocidal acts in Gaza.”
According to his personal website, Berkowitz has published several texts defending Israeli operations and refuting accusations of "genocide."
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly earlier this year, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto acknowledged Israel's security concerns as legitimate, in a major shift subsequently praised by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I would like to reiterate again Indonesia’s complete support for the two-state solution in Palestine," said Prabowo, the head of the world's most populous Muslim-majority state. "We must have an independent Palestine, but we must also, we must also recognize, we must also respect, and we must also guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then we can have real peace, real peace and no longer hate and no longer suspicion."