When President Prabowo Subianto took the floor at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025, his address signaled a moment of delicate balancing in Indonesia’s diplomacy.
He passionately called again for recognition of a Palestinian state while simultaneously emphasizing that Israel’s safety and security must never be neglected.
His closing gesture, invoking greetings from both Islamic and Jewish tradition (as well as others), underscored his vision of interfaith respect underpinning political peace.
A Firm Call for a Palestinian State
From early in his speech, Prabowo made clear Indonesia’s long‑standing support for Palestinian aspirations.
He condemned violence against innocent civilians in Gaza, lamenting the loss of thousands of lives, many of them women and children, and described the humanitarian suffering there as intolerable.
Indonesia, he reaffirmed, sees no alternative but the two‑state solution as the path toward a sustainable peace. He explicitly urged member states to formally recognize Palestine as an independent state with full statehood.
He also lauded recent momentum: countries such as France, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Portugal, he said, had taken courageous steps by recognizing Palestinian statehood, and their example should inspire others.
He framed such recognition not as a gesture alone, but as a necessary step toward enabling real peace.
Guaranteeing Israel’s Security
Yet Prabowo’s speech stood apart from many others at UNGA in the same week because he did not simply condemn Israeli actions or demand restraint. Instead, he placed equal emphasis on Israel’s legitimate need for security.
He declared that Indonesia would support guarantees for Israel’s safety, asserting that the two‑state solution must respect both Palestinian independence and Israeli security.
He repeated that “we must … guarantee the safety and security of Israel” in order for peace to take hold and for hatred and suspicion to be buried once and for all.
In making this argument, Prabowo positioned Indonesia as seeking a middle course: one that does not shy from the plight of Palestinians but also refuses to deny Israel its own rights.
That posture, some observers noted, broke ranks with several other Muslim‑majority states that had taken far more adversarial tones in their addresses to the Assembly.
Readiness to Contribute to Peacekeeping
To signal that Indonesia would not be a merely rhetorical advocate, Prabowo went further and offered a tangible role.
He announced that Indonesia was willing to deploy peacekeeping forces, on the order of 20,000 troops or more, under UN mandate, should the Assembly and Security Council decide to authorize such a mission.
He said his country would not shy from “boots on the ground” if peace demanded guardianship on the horizon.
This offer, in his view, reinforced his earlier message: if Israel’s security is guaranteed and Palestinian independence recognized, then peace need not remain an abstract dream.
Interfaith Closing, Including from Jewish Tradition
As the speech drew to a close, Prabowo delivered a distinctive closing that echoed his broader message of faith transcending divisions.
He said: “Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, Shalom, Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om, Namo Buddhaya. Thank you very much. May God bless us all, may peace be upon us.”
Through that invocation, he wove together greetings from Islam (“Wassalamu’alaikum”), Judaism (“Shalom”), Hindu tradition (“Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om”) and Buddhism (“Namo Buddhaya”).
The inclusion of “Shalom” drew particular attention, because it originates from Jewish tradition and thus signified symbolic respect to Jewish culture and heritage in that global forum.
That pluralistic salutation was not merely ceremonial. It was intended as a living metaphor for how the world might approach conflict: not by asserting the dominance of one faith or narrative, but by recognizing difference and building a shared language of peace.
Indonesia’s Balancing Act of Diplomacy
In his UNGA address, Prabowo walked a diplomatic tightrope. On one side stood Indonesia’s historic solidarity with the Palestinian cause; on the other stood the realpolitik of a conflict in which Israel claims intrinsic security rights.
His insistence that both Palestinian statehood and the security of Israel must be respected marks a nuanced stance in global diplomacy.
By concluding with both Islamic and Jewish phrases (and other religious salutations), he cast his message in interfaith terms, reminding the world, and the assembly, that reconciliation must rise above divisions.
In that symbolic gesture, he sought to underscore that political peace must rest on respect, inclusion, and the recognition that humanity’s conflicts are not ultimately between monolithic blocs but between people yearning for dignity, safety, and justice.
