DEMARCHE REQUEST: USG SUPPORT FOR AN INDONESIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 111944 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2019 TAGS: PREL IN IS SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: USG SUPPORT FOR AN INDONESIAN OPENING TO ISRAEL REF: TEL AVIV 1880 Classified By: EAP A/S KURT M. CAMPBELL, REASONS 1.4 (B),(D). ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 2. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST: As part of our broader efforts in support of normalization of relations between Israel, and Arab and Muslim-majority countries, the Department requests that Embassy Jakarta engage the Government of Indonesia in support of improved relations between Indonesia and Israel. Embassy Jakarta is requested to use appropriate opportunities to deliver the talking points below to the Government of Indonesia at the highest appropriate levels. END SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST. ¶3. (C) Background: Promotion of improved Indonesian-Israeli ties is consistent with our broader policy of encouraging relations between Israel, and Arab and Muslim-majority countries. It also complements an active effort to create a positive context for successful final status negotiations that will lead to a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. We would like to encourage the Government of Indonesia to consider what steps it could take in the near future to improve its relations with Israel. The Government of Israel specifically asked that President Obama raise this issue during the trip to Indonesia that it anticipated he would make in November (reftel). Despite the fact that President Obama,s trip to Indonesia has been postponed, the Department would like to go ahead with the effort to encourage the Government of Indonesia to consider what steps it might be in a position to take with regard to Israel. ¶4. (U) Points of Contact on this issue are NEA/IPA: Jeff Giauque, 202-647-4132, and EAP/MTS: Joy Yamamoto, 202-647-2543. ¶7. (U) Talking Points: --The United States is vigorously pursuing comprehensive peace in the Middle East--peace between Israelis and Palestinians, between Israel and Syria, and between Israel and Lebanon, and full, normal relations between Israel and the Muslim world. -- President Obama is committed to launching successful negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, and our goal is to do so as soon as possible. The issues at hand can be resolved only through direct negotiations, which should resume without delay and without pre-conditions. Postponing negotiations only undermines our collective interest in resolving this conflict, complicates efforts to establish a Palestinian state, and prolongs the suffering on both sides. There is an opportunity to end this conflict, and we must seize it. --Even as we ask the Israelis and Palestinians to take the difficult steps that will make successful negotiations possible, we have also asked the Arab states to take concrete steps toward peace and a thaw in relations with Israel in the spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative. --We appreciate that the Organization of the Islamic Conference has expressed its support for the Arab Peace Initiative. We hope that Indonesia -- as an OIC member and as a bridge between the Islamic and the Western worlds -- will join us in pursuing peace by urging the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the Arab states to take the necessary steps towards peace and supporting them as they make the difficult decisions that will be required. As your President has said, Indonesia has a significant role to play. --As a further means of giving impetus to Middle East peace, we ask that Indonesia consider any other ways that it might constructively contribute to efforts to achieve a comprehensive Middle East peace, particularly in terms of providing support to President Abbas, Prime Minister Fayyad, and their efforts to develop the institutional capacities of the Palestinian Authority. --In this same vein, we also ask that Indonesia consider what steps it could take to improve its relations with Israel. As the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, any steps that Indonesia took towards improved ties with Israel would send a powerful signal of support for peace in the Middle East. Such steps might include the establishment of mutual trade and/or tourism offices and facilitation of visas for Indonesian and Israeli travelers. -- We ask for Indonesia,s support in all of these areas in the spirit of your President,s call for harmony among civilizations. Indonesia has a tremendous example to share in how you overcame ethnic differences and religious conflicts, despite the challenges of democracy and development. As your President rightly said in his speech in Boston, now is the time to intensify dialogue and outreach and end the vicious cycle of conflict and violence. CLINTON