Indonesian media shouldn’t give platforms to pro-Israel voices

Indonesia has long positioned itself as a firm opponent of colonialism and injustice. That stance is not rhetorical. It is enshrined in its constitution, which clearly states: “Colonialism must be abolished in this world because it is not in accordance with humanity and justice.” Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestine — a regime of military control, land theft, forced displacement, and mass killing — is colonialism in its rawest form. Indonesian media has no business legitimising it.

Yet some national broadcasters, including TVOne and iNews, have repeatedly given airtime to pro-Israel activists under the pretense of balanced discussion. These figures do not merely present an alternative opinion; they promote a narrative designed to justify the dispossession and destruction of an entire people. They defend what global human rights organizations — including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — have clearly defined as apartheid and crimes against humanity.

This is not journalism. It is complicity.

Over the past two years, more than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed — the vast majority of them civilians, including thousands of children. This did not happen in a vacuum. Israel has maintained a crippling blockade of Gaza for over 17 years, controlling its borders, airspace, and access to water, medicine, and electricity. These are not military operations. They are methods of collective punishment and systematic annihilation.

To feature voices that seek to justify this brutality is to abandon the role of the press as a watchdog and transform it into a platform for propaganda. This is not “hearing both sides.” There are no two sides to ethnic cleansing. There is no neutral position when a people are being starved and bombed into extinction.

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Some may argue that refusing to host pro-Israel voices is a violation of free speech. This is a distortion of the concept. Freedom of expression means the right to speak without fear of state repression — not the right to be broadcast on national television. Media institutions are not obliged to amplify every viewpoint, especially when that viewpoint defends war crimes. Just as we would never give airtime to Holocaust denial or racial supremacists in the name of “balance,” we should not provide a stage for those who justify Israel’s systemic violence against Palestinians.

The stakes are not merely theoretical. Broadcasting pro-Israel narratives confuses the public, weakens our moral clarity, and opens the door to normalizing colonial violence. It suggests that our constitutional principles — and the suffering of the Palestinian people — are debatable, or worse, expendable. That is a dangerous path.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. Our solidarity with Palestine is not only political; it is emotional and deeply rooted in our history. We know what colonial occupation looks like. We know what it means to resist it. For a national outlet to invite someone who defends that same system of occupation — to paint it as rational or humane — is not just offensive. It is an insult to our national memory and our collective dignity.

Some will say these debates are educational. But what is being taught? That genocide is open to interpretation? That apartheid deserves a fair hearing? Ideas do not exist in a vacuum — especially not in the media. When a broadcaster features a voice, it lends that voice legitimacy. It signals to the audience that this is a perspective worth considering. When that perspective is rooted in the justification of colonial violence, the result is not education. It is indoctrination.

Let us be clear: refusing to platform pro-Israel voices is not censorship. It is moral discernment. No serious democracy is obliged to offer space to ideologies that promote oppression. The media must exercise judgment. That judgment should align with our national principles, our constitutional values, and our ethical obligations to those living under the boot of apartheid.

Indonesian media must ask itself: What kind of society does it wish to shape? One that flattens moral distinctions in the name of neutrality? Or one that stands firmly with the victims of occupation and genocide?

This is not a time for ambiguity. It is a time for clarity. There is no neutral ground between the oppressor and the oppressed. Media must choose. And Indonesian media, if it truly reflects the soul of the nation, must stand with Palestine — without compromise, and without apology.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.