UNS — Prof. Istadiyantha, a professor in Middle East Studies Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, provided his view on the seven-decade conflict between Israel and Palestine. The prolonged conflict has claimed many civilians’ life. Therefore, Prof. Istadiyantha encouraged building peace between the conflicting countries. “Israel and Palestina, please make peace for the sake of humanity,” Prof. Istadiyantha stated in a National Seminar held on Thursday (27/5/2021).
According to the historical approach, Israel is the descendant of great nations from Prophet Ibrahim as. Ibrahim had two sons, Ismail and Ishaq. Ishaq had a son, Ya’qub or Israel. Prof. Istadiyantha also shared that Israel’s intelligence was proven by their effort to enter Palestine by purchasing land in the country. After occupying the regions in Palestine, the Jews conducted great immigration to Palestine in 1849. Before 1849, only 12,000 Jews lived in Palestine, while in 1964, the number spiked up to three million people.
An additional historical approach was added by the Indonesian Ambassador for Qatar in 2003 – 2007, Abdul Wahid Maktub, who stated that today events are the accumulation of past incidents and today incidents will affect the future. “The history is revolving, sometimes one party won and other times they lose. Sometimes it appears, other times it drowns,” he explained.
Abdul Wahid Maktub explained that before World War I, the world consisted of several large empires, such as the Ottoman and British, who constantly fought for a region. At the time, the area (West Bank) was ruled by the Ottoman, who later lost to the British. This event caused the Middle East, especially Palestine, to be separated into two regions, the Arab and Israel. Even though Muslims who refused to share their lands with the Jews protested this decision, the Jews defeated the Arabs and proclaimed Israel in 1948.
“We need to learn this (history) that political and geographical constellation always revolves and changes,” Abdul Wahid Maktub added.
The Effect of Israel and Palestine War
The war between Israel and Palestine has inflicted loss for both countries regarding damages to buildings and life. According to the current information from the Hamas Minister of Housing, 16,800 houses were damaged, and 1,800 are uninhabitable. Israel Manufacturing Association also shared the damages felt by Israel that reached around 166 million USD or 2.3 trillion rupiahs.
“The information from Al Jazeera shows us that the US congress pressed to stop the war due to its high cost, and those costs are from the US,” Prof. Istadiyantha said.
In connection to Era 5.0 as the industrial revolution, which is sponsored by Japan as humanity era, it is widely accepted that Era 5.0 is the Humanities Era. Humanities do not see ideology, group and do not stand with specific groups. Prof. Istadiyantha added that this era is for respecting humans and other living creatures. “Therefore, humanities should be promoted in Indonesia and other countries,” Prof. Istadiyantha concluded. Humas UNS
Reporter: Alinda Hardiantoro
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
