Jakarta – Indonesia's biggest Islamic organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, has asked its chief to resign for inviting a US scholar known for his support of Israel during the Gaza war to an internal event in August, according to meeting minutes reviewed by Reuters.
The leadership of NU, which is also the world's biggest Islamic organization with around 100 million members and affiliates, has given Chairman Yahya Cholil Staquf three days to offer his resignation or be removed from his post, according to the minutes from a meeting on Thursday.
NU cited Staquf's invitation to a person "affiliated with an International Zionism network" for an internal event and alleged financial mismanagement as reasons for his ouster.
Staquf, who has been NU's chairman since 2021, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NU official Najib Azca told Reuters the decision was linked to Staquf's invitation to former US official and scholar Peter Berkowitz for an August training event.
Staquf has apologized for the invitation and called it an oversight as he had not carefully checked Berkowitz's background, adding that he condemned Israel's "brutal genocidal acts in Gaza."
Israel vociferously denies genocide in its military campaign against Hamas that was launched in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people and captured 251 hostages.
Berkowitz often writes in support of Israel's campaign in Gaza, according to his website, including a piece in September aiming to refute allegations of genocide against Israel.
He previously spoke at NU seminars about the history of Western political thought in August, his website showed.
Berkowitz did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment that reached him outside of office hours.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, has no formal ties with Israel and has routinely condemned Israel's actions in Gaza.
Yet, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, Indonesia has previously coordinated with Israel on airdropping humanitarian aid to Gaza, and was said last year to be considering normalization to join the OECD.
The country's President Prabowo Subianto was widely reported in October to have been planning to visit Israel, though Jakarta denied any visit was planned. A source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that he had initially okayed a trip but backed out once the plan was leaked to the press, out of concern about domestic pushback.
The country is also among those with which the United States has discussed plans for an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, which include Azerbaijan, Egypt and Qatar.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono said this month that his country is prepared to deploy at least 20,000 troops in Gaza to help secure peace, pending a UN Security Council resolution enshrining the ISF to participate in the force.