TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - General Chair of Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU), Yahya Cholil Staquf or Gus Yahya, apologized for the meeting of five NU members with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Gus Yahya’s apology was conveyed despite claiming the visit had nothing to do with the organization.

According to Yahya, the five members’ actions in establishing relations with the Israeli government cannot be justified. "Firstly, I should apologize to the public as there were several Nahdlatul Ulama members who went to Israel recently,” Gus Yahya said in a press conference on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.

Yahya said PBNU acknowledged that the meeting was highly inappropriate considering Israel's continuous bombardment in Gaza and the constant refusal to recognize Palestine as a state.

Yahya claimed that PBNU did not know that its five members had gone to Israel. “Our institutions have also confirmed there were no mandates nor discussions before the five members departed to Israel,” Yahya said.

Therefore, Yahya stated that the visit to Israel was of a personal account and “was in no way related to the institution (of NU).”

Previously, photos circulating on social media shared by Ismail Fahmi on his X account @ismailfahm allegedly show five Nahdliyin or Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) members meeting with Israeli President Herzog.

The photo shared by Ismail was a screenshot of @zenmaarif Instagram account where the entourage met Herzog at the Israeli President's palace to discuss the “Hamas-Israel conflict” and relations between Indonesia and Israel.

Tempo has asked Zainul Maarif for confirmation through Instagram and Facebook but has not received any feedback.

SULTAN ABDURRAHMAN

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