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hat do you think when you hear the word '€œPalestine'€? Protracted conflict, occupied land, displaced people, unresolved statehood status, the murder of innocent women and children, frustration, stalemate, impasse and other such stress-filled words and phrases that reflect the intractability of the situation, right?

So I was pleasantly surprised when I received an invitation from the Palestinian Embassy to attend a cultural night on Dec. 15. What a rare pleasure and privilege!

In fact it was the first ever Palestinian cultural show in Indonesia. Co-organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the show, featuring the Asayel Folklore Troupe was held at the Balai Sarbini, Plaza Semanggi, to a packed auditorium.

Well, in the end culture expresses identity more than conflict does, and it was great to have a reminder that Palestine is not just about conflict. Hardly.

 Eleven dancers '€” five women and six men '€” performed the Dabke, a form of circle and line dancing, with synchronized jumping, stamping and wide arm movements. Often performed at weddings and parties, the Dabke is full of energy, spirit, happiness and joy. In connection with the Palestinian struggle, the Dabke now also symbolizes solidarity, resilience, strength and determination.

Palestinian songs are famous throughout the Arab world. After the 1948 Palestine war, a new wave of songs was written with themes of statehood, independence and nationalism. However, the songs performed that evening by the four singers were odes to the beauty of the Palestinian landscape and love songs. Make love not war? I'€™m all for that!

But not to worry. If you were expecting political messages, there was enough to satisfy in the speeches by Palestinian Ambassador Fariz Mehdawi, secretary-general of the OIC Iyad Aameen Madani, and Palestinian National Authority foreign affairs minister Riyad al-Maliki.

Personally, what struck me the most was the speech by Indonesian deputy foreign minister Mochamad Fachir, who said that Indonesia owed a debt to Palestine, as it was one of the '€œcountries'€ that supported Indonesian independence from the outset. Now, 60 years after the Bandung Asia Africa Conference in 1955, which Palestine attended, and colonialism having officially disappeared throughout the world, Palestine has still not achieved independence. Ironic, isn'€™t it?

Well, whether it'€™s due to historical, religious or nationalist solidarity, the Indonesian people have certainly not forgotten Palestine. Fachir added that Indonesia was one of the few nations that had many NGOs whose aim was to support Palestine. When the Indonesian government intended to build health facilities in Palestine, Indonesians '€” rich and poor alike '€” collected millions of dollars to build a hospital in the Gaza strip. It will be inaugurated sometime next year by President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo.

But besides solidarity, why is resolving the Palestine-Israeli conflict important?

As US author, journalist and academic Stephen Kinzer said, '€œThe long conflict between Israel and Palestine has, for better or worse, become the world'€™s conflict. It permanently destabilizes the Middle East, blocks the settlement of urgent crises and intensifies looming threats to the West.'€

So, if peace in Palestine is important to world stability, why have attempts to resolve the conflict come up with a dead end?

With regard to the UN, it has only issued resolutions that Israel has ignored, but maybe also because the US has veto powers in the UN and the US is largely pro-Israel.
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Indonesians grumble under their breath about Jews and Israel, but is it genuine hatred?

What about the Arab League? Well, counties like Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lybia, Yemen and other Arab countries have been kind of busy lately with instability within their own boundaries.

Europe? At the moment, idem ditto, especially with the refugee crisis and the rise in anti-Islam sentiment due to Muslim-related terror attacks.

So that leaves us with Indonesia, right?

In many ways, Indonesia is an ideal arbiter. Think about it. It'€™s the biggest Muslim community in the world but it'€™s not a Muslim state, and it'€™s proud of touting itself as moderate. Indonesia has also prided itself on its bebas-aktif (free and active) foreign policy, since the time of Sukarno.

And Indonesia has fantasies about playing a major role on the world stage. Part of that fantasy is Indonesia being the mediator to finally resolve the Israeli-Palestine conflict. President Jokowi has even called for reform of the UN to better address the '€œglobal injustice'€ of the occupation of Palestine.

So why not make the fantasy a reality by hosting Israel-Palestine talks? Imagine having them at the Bogor Palace, one of Jokowi'€™s favored locations. After all, Indonesia is legendary for its musyawarah dan mufakat (deliberation and consensus building) tradition, which runs deep in society. So let'€™s take it to the global stage! Is Indonesia ready to play this role?

Wait a sec though, there is a small condition: Indonesia has to recognize Israel. Yup, after all, a mediator has to be balanced, and to demonstrate this, Indonesia has to open full diplomatic relations with Israel.

Does Indonesia have the guts or vision to do that? Will it be ready for the Muslim backlash?

After all, this is anathema for most Indonesians. '€œWe will never recognize Israel until they stop the occupation of Palestine!'€ is the common stance, and hating Jews is Indonesia'€™s knee-jerk reaction.

But such thinking precludes Indonesia from playing a constructive role in international diplomacy. Recently there was a kerfuffle about putting Israel on the visa-free list. This shows that Indonesia isn'€™t ready.

Israel cannot trust Indonesia to be a fair arbiter if Indonesia remains hostile to Israel. Indonesians grumble under their breath about Jews and Israel, but is it genuine hatred? I wonder.

Whatever his shortcomings as a president and a human being, the late Abdurrahman '€œGus Dur'€ Wahid was a rare example of an Indonesian who could overcome this knee-jerk reaction. He had a long standing relationship with Israel from 1994. His motivation to maintain the relationship was precisely to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.

So maybe it'€™s time to resurrect the spirit of Gus Dur, for the sake of an agreement between Palestine and Israel, Indonesia'€™s global role, a boost for moderate and progressive Islam, and, who knows, even world peace?
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The writer is the author of Julia'€™s Jihad