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Israel and Indonesian vice president Gibran prove the powerful can break rules and walk free

67 0
07.10.2026

Today marks three years since Israel began its genocide in Gaza. Three years in which Israel has faced no real punishment. On the eve of this anniversary, a court in Indonesia showed the world exactly how this impunity works: the powerful break the rules, the system watches, and nobody lifts a finger.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. It has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long been one of Palestine’s loudest defenders. On 6 October, its Constitutional Court ruled on the case of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, eldest son of former president Joko Widodo. Indonesian law is crystal clear: every candidate for president or vice president must have finished high school.

Twelve citizens asked the court to remove Gibran, saying he never had a real high school certificate. In court, the Ministry of Education admitted something scandalous. In 2019 it handed Gibran an official letter declaring his schooling in Singapore and Australia equal to an Indonesian high school, without ever seeing his diploma. All it had was a certificate of attendance. No graduation certificate was produced during the entire case.

The judges found no convincing proof that Gibran holds a high school diploma. Then they rejected the case anyway. Their excuse: he is already in office, so the matter was beyond their power. They........

© Middle East Monitor