Head of country's Islamic Movement attends TA ceremony, says visiting Israel his "childhood dream."
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHMDA indonesia 224.88(photo credit: MDA)
The chairman of the 118 EAS medical emergency ambulance services based in Indonesia - the world's most-populous Muslim state - signed a medical cooperation agreement in Tel Aviv on Thursday with representatives of Magen David Adom and witnessed by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC).
Prof. Aryono Pusponegoro came for the signing, which was witnessed by 76-year-old Dr. Sudibyo Markus, who is chairman of the national board of Muhammadiyah (the Islamic Movement) in the country of 220 million Muslims. The Indonesian doctors' visit was preceded by a group of 23 Indonesian doctors and paramedics who participated in a two-week MDA workshop here in June.
The $200,000 agreement (to be funded by outside organizations) will lead to training of Indonesian medics and paramedics here and apparently in Indonesia as well. Even though very few Israelis have gone to Indonesia, MDA staffers and volunteers may apply for a permit to enter that country, MDA executive committee chairman Dr. Noam
Yifrach said.
Markus, a doctor with very good English who was described by Yifrach as being "moderate and not involved in Middle East politics," did not grant interviews, but the MDA chairman said the Indonesian Islamic Movement head "came to Israel because he knew that we here are the world's leading experts in medical emergencies."
Yifrach said that the visit would have been impossible if the International Committee of
the Red Cross had not made MDA a recognized and equal member of the Red Cross Movement, upgrading its observer status two years ago. Yifrach was an invited guest to Indonesia earlier this year and met Markus there.
The current visit to Israel was carried out with full approval of the Foreign Ministry
in Jerusalem, the MDA official said.
"Indonesia is a modern, not fundamentalist, Islamic country. Dr. Markus - the
highest-level Indonesian to visit Israel - has broken the ice and is friendly to Israel. I believe this could lead to a process of eventual diplomatic ties between the two countries," he predicted. "They regard us [MDA] as humanitarian, not governmental.
Indonesia has no conflict with Israel. But they do have major earthquakes every few
years, and we are experts in coping with disasters. Indonesia was also the major victim
of the tsunami a few years ago."
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