"We object to any plan to commemorate Israel`s independence in Indonesia," NU chairman Said Aqil Siradj said on the sidelines of a get-together between the Constitutional Court and Muslimat Nahdlatul Ulama here on Friday.
NU urged police not to issue a permit to the organizer of the event that might give rise to chaos, he said.
"Don`t issue a permit for the event. If there is strong reaction it may lead to chaos," he said.
Said Aqil said rejecting the commemoration of Israel`s independence did not mean rejecting the Jew.
"We must make a distinction between the Jew as a religion and the Zionist establishing Israeli state," he said.
As a religion, he said, the Jew must be respected in the same way as other religions.
"But we don`t agree with the Zionist that has established the despotic Israel," he said.
The day claimed by Israel as independence day was actually the day of tragedy for Palestine, he said.
In related developments, some 100 students staged an anti-Israel rally in Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province, on Saturday. They called on Muslims to condemn the plan to commemorate Israel`s independence in Indonesia.
Commemorating Israel`s independence day amounted to celebrating the death of Palestinian Muslims, they said.(*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
