LAKSAMANA.Net, April 17, 2005 12:47 PM
Huge Rally in Jakarta Against Israel
Laksamana.Net - Tens of thousands of members and supporters of Indonesia's
Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have staged a massive rally in Jakarta
to protest efforts by Jewish extremists to enter the disputed Al-Aqsa Mosque complex
in Jerusalem.
Right-wing Israelis grouped in the Revava organization have this month been
threatening to mobilize thousands of supporters to seize the holy site, which the Jews
call the Temple Mount compound. Israeli police have so far prevented the radicals
from entering the site, which also contains the golden Dome of the Rock (Omar
Mosque).
Muslims, who call the site Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), fear the extremist Jews
want to demolish Al-Aqsa and build a synagogue in its place.
Revava has been trying to surround Al-Aqsa to protest the planned withdrawal of 8,000
Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian radicals have responded to the Jewish threats by appealing to the entire
Muslim world to protect Al-Aqsa.
PKS, which holds the most seats in Jakarta's provincial legislative assembly,
responded enthusiastically to the call. Thousands of the party's supporters began
rallying at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle at 8am Sunday (17/4/05) and marched
down Jalan Thamrin, the city's main thoroughfare, to the heavily fortified US Embassy
on Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan.
Members of at least 130 local chapters of PKS from Jakarta, West Java and Banten
created severe traffic congestion as they marched down one side of the street while
chanting anti-Israel slogans and waving Palestinian flags. Several children and babies
were brought along to join the huge rally.
Dressed mostly in white, the protesters carried banners with slogans such as
‘Al-Aqsa is our mosque, not their synagogue', ‘Israel = Terrorists', ‘Save Al-Aqsa, Free
Palestine', ‘Got to Hell Zionist Israel', ‘Jihad against arrogant Jews' and ‘Raid the
Jews'. Some of the protesters wore black outfits in the style of Palestine's radical
Hamas group and carried toy guns.
Outside the US Embassy, orators criticized Israeli attacks against the Palestinians
and accused the US government of President George W. Bush of being the world's
number one terrorist.
PKS executive Al Muzammil Yusuf, who is also a member of the House of
Representatives, said Revava's efforts to “surround and destroy” Al-Aqsa had
provoked anger among Muslims and Christians, and were a threat to inter-religious
harmony in the Middle East.
He said that although Indonesia itself is still dealing with catastrophic natural
disasters and facing many political and economic problems, it remains in strong
solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom.
Yusuf claimed PKS had mobilized up to 200,000 people to take part in the rally to
support a peaceful solution to the dispute over the site. Some of the protesters
stopped off at Jakarta's main McDonald's restaurant, in the Sarinah shopping center,
to take a break and eat some American-style fast-food.
Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population and a staunch supporter of
Palestinian statehood.
Despite the absence of official diplomatic links, Israel has long maintained covert ties
with Indonesia. According to some reports, Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, under
the cover of a business office, has been present in Jakarta for years.
Reports say Indonesian officers have been trained in Israel in anti-terrorist methods,
and intelligence agencies of both countries have been exchanging information since
the late 1960s.
Former Mossad agent Victor Ostrovsky has said the Israeli agency is very well
entrenched in Indonesia, with the knowledge and permission of the Indonesian
government. Some reports imply that Israel in the late 1980s sold 28 US-made
Skyhawk fighter aircraft to Indonesia.
Anti-corruption activist George Aditjondro has written that former president Suharto
regime purchased Israeli Uzi guns and other weapons through Mossad-linked arms
trader Shaul Eisenberg.
Following the signing of a peace agreement between Israel and Yasser Arafat's
Palestinian Liberation Organization in September 1993, then Israeli leader Yitzhak
Rabin visited Jakarta in October 1993 as the guest of then president Suharto.
That was the last time an Israeli head of state has visited Indonesia, but informal trade
continues between the two nations. Due to trade barriers, direct bilateral trade
between Indonesian and Israel stands at only about $20 million annually.
Israel is reportedly interested in buying palm oil, coffee, plywood and furniture; while
Indonesia is interested in Israel's telecommunications equipment and other high-tech
products.
Background
The First Temple of the Jews was built at the site during the reign of King Solomon in
957 BC to house the Ark of the Covenant. Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon later forced
the Jews into exile, plundered their treasures and destroyed the temple in 587 BC.
The Jews later returned to Jerusalem and built a Second Temple on the site in 515
BC, although the scared Ark of the Covenant had long been missing. The Romans
destroyed the temple in 70 AD. The only remaining part of Solomon's original temple
is the Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall, which is the holiest place of
pilgrimage and prayer for Jews.
Muslims built the Dome of the Rock in 687 BC (687 AD -red). The Prophet
Mohammad is said to have flown on a winged horse-like animal from Mecca to the
site in Jerusalem, from where he ascended a golden ladder to Heaven. The compound
is the third holiest site to most Muslims after Mecca and Medina.
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