I wrote the following essay during the first few days of Israel's attack into Gaza, which started in the last week of December. It is an opinion piece that I subsequently sent to The Jakarta Post. It did not get published and the opinion editor explained to me that it was because "we demand clear attribution to our articles". Which means that I better get myself some sort of political science degree if I want to have my opinion on this kind of subject published. Oh well. If you decide to read it, though, keep it mind that it was based on the early reports of the attack.
A handful of Indonesian online readers have made comments responding to the news that our government has pledged to send some US$1 million worth of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian victims of Israel’s latest bombings in Gaza. Interestingly, most of the comments clearly indicate which side they are on: neither the Palestinians, nor the Israelis. Rather than commenting on the number of civilian casualties or the right and wrong of the invasion, nearly all of these readers expressed disbelief and annoyance that the government is so ready to dispense such an amount to people above their own. Given the pitiful state of our own economy, it is no doubt a sentiment shared by many others in the country.
What the readers did not make a comment on, however, is how self-righteously our government is in condemning the attack.So far, while speaking at press conferences about the topic, the government ministers have not made any reference to the reason why this bombing took place at the first place. They are either unaware or ignore the facts that the Hamas group had been launching rockets to Israel, blindly and daily, before Israel finally decided to initiate the bombings. Also, while the government laments the civilian casualties that the bombings have claimed, they are also – or choose to be - ignorant to the fact that Hamas members disguise themselves as civilians and operate within the civilian population. How is a bomber pilot, flying hundreds of feet above ground, able to differentiate a Hamas from a non-Hamas if they are all wearing civilian clothing? The only thing they keep their eyes open for then, it seems, is the fact that the victims are Muslims – people like us - and the perpetrators are Jews – people who, by indoctrination, we do not like.Some say that Israel overdoes it on the scale of the retaliation because while Hamas rockets flew daily into Israel's civilian territory, they have killed far fewer than the 320 victims that Israel's bombs have claimed so far. And by definition, they are right. Israel is indeed overdoing it. After all, retaliation is defined as: return of like for like. But beyond that, let's stop and put ourselves in the Israelis’ shoes. They may not have got hit by Hamas rockets, but does living under the threat that they might this day or the next make it any better? In any case, we are talking about retaliation on a national defence level which in Israel’s case, there is the extra weight of defending its right to exist. A dictionary definition of retaliation has no relevance.
We can perhaps liken this situation to the ultimate US retaliation against Japan: the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II. The history is clear cut: Japan brought the US rudely into the theatre of war by bombing Pearl Harbour, an act which cost 2400 lives. In the end, the US decided to end Japan's aggression by bombing their two cities and in doing so, claiming 220,000 lives. It was definitely not a return of the like for like, but as 'beneficiaries' of these atrocities, have we, as a nation, cried foul condemning that particular US action? After all, though the method of their retaliation will always remain in an ethical debate, the desired result – Japan’s surrender – was in our interest, as was the case for other countries under the Japanese occupation. We rejoiced over the deaths and sufferings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki's civilians because effectively, thanks to their destroyed lives, we were finally able to claim our independence and build our own lives.
And so, in responding to Israel's action over Hamas, our government must always keep itself in perspective. It must try to prevent its personal feelings from seeing the facts, and the fact is that this is just another border conflict, whose participants could easily be Baltic, European, Asian or Middle Eastern countries. Taking sides with anyone just because they – victim, perpetrator or both – share our religion will only further damage Indonesia’s credibility. Even if we ideologically ‘belong’ to that part of the world that denies Israel’s existence, let’s face the facts. Israel is strong both militarily and financially. It is also an ally of the most powerful nation in the world. Whether we like it or not, Israel is here to stay.
And finally, while an act of charity is indeed a wonderful thing, let’s not overdo it – after all, millions of our own desperately poor people could benefit from a tiny bite of that US$1 million pie.
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