Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, MUI deputy chairman for foreign affairs, urged the Minahasa regency administration and the local Jewish community to shut down the exhibition.

He said he was concerned that the exhibition would be used as a way to endorse diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Israel.

He said Indonesia, as one of the countries that recognized Palestine as a state, was committed to carrying out its constitutional duty to eradicate colonialism by standing with the Palestinian people against Israel’s colonization.

Sudarnoto went on to say that the exhibition’s depiction of Jews as victims during the Holocaust was in contrast to the current situation, where Israel, the Jewish nation-state, committed extraordinary crimes against Palestinians.

"Indonesia is known to be at the forefront of defending Palestinian rights. Why is there this [exhibition] all of a sudden? I think it can hurt Palestinians,” he told The Jakarta Post.

The photo exhibition, which the organizers have dubbed as the first Holocaust museum in Southeast Asia, is being held at Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue in Tondano, Minahasa. It is the only remaining synagogue providing a service in Indonesia after another synagogue in Surabaya, East Java, was demolished in 2013.

The exhibition was opened on Jan. 27, coinciding with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Minahasa Regent Royke Octavian Roring, German Ambassador to Indonesia Ina Lepel and representatives from the Austrian Embassy in Jakarta attended the opening event.

Separately, PKS politician Hidayat Nur Wahid echoed the MUI’s sentiment, saying the exhibition had to be shut down as it was contrary to the government's support of Palestine, adding that it was unimportant for Indonesians.

"The Holocaust museum, if it is necessary, should be for Israel to raise collective awareness on how evil the Holocaust was, so that Israel itself does not repeat [what happened] against another nation," he said in a statement on Monday.

Setara Institute researcher, Halili Hasan told the Post on Wednesday that Indonesia's support for Palestinian independence and the Holocaust commemoration were two different things that cannot be used as reasons for shutting down the exhibition.

"Judaism and Zionism are different things, not all Jewish people agree with imperialism or the Zionist annexation of Palestinian territories,

"I don't think it's appropriate to use [Indonesian support for Palestine independence] as a reason to protest or interpret [the exhibition] as contradictory to Indonesia's support for Palestine's independence from Israeli occupation,” Halili said.

Yaakov Baruch, an Indonesian of Jewish descent who officiated the exhibition opening, said it was to commemorate his grandmother, a Jewish-Dutch who married an Indonesian, who was a victim of the Holocaust.

Yaakov said another reason for the exhibition was to respond to the rise of anti-Semitic sentiment in the country. “Indonesia can hate Israel but cannot deny the dark and grim history of the Jewish people,” he said as quoted by VOA Indonesia.

The organizers said the exhibition was in cooperation with the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem and would be open until Jan. 27, 2023.

The United Indonesian Jewish Community estimated that there were around 2,000 Indonesians of Jewish ancestry in 2018. However, only around 250 followed Jewish practices, most of whom were descendants of 16th-century European colonists.

Indonesia has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to assisting in the struggle of the Palestinian people. Earlier this month, an Indonesian Foreign Ministry top official said the country would never tolerate the occupation of Palestine by Israel and that it would continue “to support a two-state solution in accordance with international parameters”.

Indonesia’s approach to the Middle Eastern conflict between Israel and Palestine is enshrined in the 1945 Constitution, in line with the spirit of solidarity that developed at a time when anti-colonial movements flourished in the aftermath of World War II. Palestine is the only remaining participant of the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference, held in Bandung, West Java, that has yet to achieve full independence.

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