Israel’s foreign minister published an editorial in an Indonesian newspaper calling for rapprochement with the Muslim world. “Israel does not see Islam as an enemy, and has never seen it as such. On the contrary, history has shown us that Jews and Muslims lived in peace, harmony and friendship for many years in the past. This should be the aim in the future,” Silvan Shalom wrote this week in the Jakarta Post. “At this time of renewed hope for progress toward peace in the Middle East, we believe that the time is ripe to promote dialogue with all countries.” The publication of an article by a senior Israeli official was unprecedented for Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, which has no ties with Israel. Shalom has vowed to capitalize on global goodwill garnered from the recent Gaza Strip withdrawal to normalize Israel’s relations with the Arab and Muslim world.
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