Holocaust Museum in Tondano, A Smooth Maneuver to Reach Normalization

By: Deputy Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Hidayat Nur Wahid

We support the attitude of Indonesian Ulema Counci (MUI) and various Islamic organizations by criticizing the opening of the Holocaust Museum and the Holocaust photo exhibition in Tondano, Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi.

We support the attitude of the Chair of the MUI for Foreign Cooperation and International Relations, Prof. DR. Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, who demanded the closure of the photo exhibition and the Holocaust Museum in Tondano. Because this museum has the potential to create unrest and is counterproductive to efforts to defend Palestine which the government and the Indonesian people have fought for. It also has the potential to trigger uproar among the Indonesian public, who should concentrate on dealing with the wave of Omicron variants.

If the reason is preventing anti-Semitism, then Indonesia, which does not ratify the law, is actually being exposed to acts of terror, genocide and a kind of Holocaust by Israel against the Palestinians every day. So that the Palestinians are scattered, there are those in the West Bank, Gaza or in the Israeli-occupied areas.

About half of the Palestinians are even diaspora in many countries and across continents. Not to mention the human rights violations against Palestinians in Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the years of isolation of Palestinians in Gaza.

Also Israel’s disregard for various UN resolutions and international institutional agreements. Israel’s intolerant behavior towards Palestine is precisely what Israel has always displayed. As a party claiming to be a victim of the Nazi Holocaust, Israel should not repeat the same thing to other nations, in this case Palestine.

The Holocaust Museum, if needed, should be for Israel itself. To raise collective awareness in Israel how evil the Holocaust is, so that Israel will not repeat it against any nation. So that it can bring peace and stop the Holocaust crimes, racism and Israeli intolerance towards Palestine.

Obviously, Holocaust museums are not needed in Indonesia which is tolerant, not racist, does not perpetrate the Holocaust against any ethnicity or nation. In fact, the Indonesian people have experienced a kind of Holocaust carried out by the henchman of the Dutch colonialists, Westerling, against tens of thousands of civilians in South Sulawesi in 1946-1947.

Moreover, sources of information about the history of the Holocaust that are easily accessible in the era of information technology, have actually opened many veils about the nature of the Holocaust and the events that preceded it. Because apparently there are also important documents; The Haavara Agreement, in 1933, was agreed by the Zionist organizations in Germany and Britain with the Nazi regime for the migration of 60,000 German Jews to Palestine.

It is suspect if there is an ulterior motive for the establishment of this museum in Indonesia as part of a maneuver to smooth the plan to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and Indonesia. Moreover, the museum in Tondano cooperates with the Yad Vashem Israel Museum, where the director is a major figure in Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank, the Palestinian area.

Such a maneuver is certainly very intolerant of the official stance of the Indonesian nation and state. Contrary to the values ​​of the Indonesian nation which upholds humanity, rejects all colonialism, and therefore supports an independent Palestine and rejects Israeli occupation.

The opening of the photo exhibition and the Holocaust Museum in Tondano holds more potential for negative. Forcing its presence in Indonesia is also like an exhibition of intolerance and manipulation of Israel’s contemporary history as a state of looters, occupiers, perpetrators of terror and crimes against humanity against Palestine. Similar to some Nazi Germany towards some Jews, as happened in the Holocaust.

The existence of the Holocaust museum in Indonesia also diverts issues and facts from Israel and its Zionism today, which practice apartheid against Palestine. As stated by international NGOs such as Human Rights Watch, and the NGO B’tselem in Israel. In fact, apartheid has been agreed upon by international law as a crime against humanity as enshrined in the Rome Statute.

The opening of the Holocaust museum has the potential to be a “whitewashing” of the practices of apartheid, terror, intolerance, racism and other crimes against humanity committed by Israel against Palestine, where since the First Intifada period alone, 12 thousand Palestinians have been massacred by Israel. Not to mention the millions of Palestinians who have become diaspora.

Until now there are 2 million Palestinians who are blockaded in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners are imprisoned with illegal and very inhumane treatment. These are all facts of a contextual and relevant humanitarian tragedy to be defended and fought for in Indonesia by establishing a museum for the crimes of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Instead of giving legality to Israel under the pretext of the Holocaust and making a museum, because it is very real, and has become an open secret, the Israeli zionists actually carry out looting, massacres and occupation of Palestine.

Therefore, we urge the committee of the Holocaust museum and photo exhibition in Tondano to be tolerant of the Indonesian nation and state which rejects Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Therefore, it is necessary to close immediately and there is no need to continue the Holocaust Museum.

We deplore the Holocaust crimes in the past, both against the Jews in Germany, and the Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But we also condemn all other forms of contemporary crimes against humanity. Including Israel’s crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people.

In fact, the Israeli occupation cannot be separated from the dark cooperation of the German Zionist organization with the Nazi regime through the Haavara Agreement and other agreements before the Holocaust. Until now the Palestinian people have suffered prolonged suffering due to this evil, racist and intolerant cooperation.

If you want to prevent the recurrence of atrocities and crimes against humanity such as the Holocaust, then don’t stop at irrelevant symbolic gestures such as creating the Holocaust museum in Tondano. But it should be with real action against every form of crime against humanity that is happening today, including crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the Palestinian people. Instead of multiplying museum buildings that are manipulative and become the legitimacy of the establishment of the Israeli colonial state.

So a museum like this is more needed in Israel so that they don’t continue the Nazi “holocaust” against the Palestinians. Can bring peace, by avoiding racist and intolerant attitudes and attitudes to perpetuate colonialism that terrorizes the Palestinian people.

Indonesia’s attitude towards occupation such as the Israeli occupation, and Indonesia’s attitude towards independence such as the independence of Palestine is very clear and firm. Even as President Joko Widodostated; Indonesia supports the struggle for Palestinian independence, and the independence of the Palestinian people is a historical debt for Indonesia. This has become a historical and ingrained attitude of Indonesia both at the Executive level since President Soekarno, the Legislature, Islamic Organizations and Political Organizations as well as the Indonesian people in general, supported the struggle and independence of Palestine and rejected the Israeli occupation of Palestine, as mandated in paragraph 1 of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution.

So, Indonesia does not need a Holocaust museum which actually legitimizes the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The museum is also no longer needed by Indonesia if the museum becomes a smooth maneuver to smooth the politics of normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel, because it is proven by normalization that Israel’s occupation of Palestine does not stop, but continues. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)