‘Tone-deaf’: Indonesia’s largest Islamic group apologises after members meet Israel leader

Yahya Cholil Staquf, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – which has around 95 million members – called the visit to Israel by its members “inappropriate” and “tone-deaf.”

“We understand that this is something that crossed the line in the context of the current situation [between Israel and Palestine],” Yahya said in a press conference at NU’s headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He also said that the visit was made without the endorsement or knowledge of NU.

The Indonesian government has meanwhile also swiftly distanced itself from the controversy, saying on Monday that the visit was in no way reflective of its position on Israel.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not in a position to comment on the visit, which is not related in any way to the official position of the Indonesian government,” said ministry spokesman Roy Soemirat, according to a report by local news outlet Kompas.

While it is unclear when the meeting occurred, the post was originally shared on Instagram on July 7. The location information on the post said the photo was taken at the residence of the president of Israel, which is in Tel Aviv.

NU identified the other four activists as Sukron Makmun, a member of NU’s Banten branch; Munawir Aziz, the secretary of NU’s traditional martial art organisation; as well as Nurul Bahrul Ulum and Izza Annafisah Dania, executive members of NU’s young women’s organisation.

NU Chairman Yahya said the five members would face sanctions from the organisation.

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The meeting was reportedly arranged by an alumni group of Harvard University in the United States, who invited the NU members to Israel for discussions on “academia and start-ups”, according to Nadirsyah