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| Focus Group Discussion on the Palestinian and Israeli Conflict (Photo: Special). |
As an act of full commitment to support Palestine, the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) held a declaration and discussion on the conflict between Palestine and Israel. The event was held on May 7th, 2024. Many people from the academic community attended the event and gave their support through donations, thoughts, and encouragement for Palestine to be free soon and stop the conflict. This event was also held simultaneously by 172 Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah universities throughout Indonesia at the same time.
The UMM Chancellor, Prof. Dr. Nazaruddin Malik, M.Si., said that this discussion and declaration tried to provide various perspectives on the humanitarian tragedy in Palestine. The support will be better if we understand the concept and what is happening. Moreover, Indonesia does not agree with violence between humans. UMM, The White Campus, has taken various firm stances in supporting Palestine, for example, in terms of financial and humanitarian support.
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“On this agenda, we have Mr. Boy and Mr. Haryo, who will provide an explanation and insight. They will explain how we should behave and see the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from various perspectives. Thus, we can get an exact overview of this matter,” he said.
An engaging discussion was also available at the event. Pradana Boy ZTF, Ph.D., gave an interesting explanation. According to him, although Indonesia has many religious ideologies, the conflict in Palestine can really unite them. Unfortunately, this great support is not accompanied by enough understanding of the conflict. Various efforts have also been made by the community, including by a series of existing mass organizations.
“For example, Muhammadiyah has provided financial assistance to Palestine amounting to 45 billion rupiah collected through Lazismu. Providing education and training for Palestinian refugees, as well as strengthening and empowering the economy. In addition, there is also Nahdatul Ulama (NU), which has contributed to supporting the freedom of Palestine. In addition, NU also contributes to supporting Palestine, such as through seven statements about NU's position, financial aid, and narrative support on social media to support Palestine,” he added.
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Furthermore, Boy also explained some of the challenges of supporting Palestine. Some of them include a proper understanding of the concept of support and conflict, the lack of a unified political stance from Muslim countries, and the provision of substantial support that focuses on the solution to the core problem.
Meanwhile, Haryo Prasodjo, an expert on Islamic political thought, said that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict must be viewed from various perspectives, not only from the religious aspect. However, there are also political, military, economic, and other aspects. “There are also international actors involved. Who supplies the missiles or iron dome? Who benefits from the conflict in Palestine? This is certainly very complex,” he said.
However, it is also important to look at the structure of international relations. Palestine and Israel do not stand alone; there must be countries that support them. For example, Indonesia is always ready to support Palestine. Likewise, with the aspects of international law and consensus
“The problem is that we are in a common system, namely the United Nations (UN). Within the UN system, the veto holders are mostly countries that support and are pro-Israel. This is quite a challenge,” he said.
Haryo also gave a series of keys to success for Pelastina to get its rights. Starting with strengthening the internal structure of the Palestinian government. Then also cutting financial and political support, for example, by boycotting products supporting Israel. Likewise, with solid and concrete support from Muslim countries and Indonesia's position to provide humanitarian assistance there. (wil/put)
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