Viral video of Indonesian president advocating recognition, security for Israel at UNGA

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is misleading.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team reviewed the complete speech delivered by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during the General Debate of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 23, 2025.

Posts from multiple Indian users on social media platform X on September 24, 2025, shared a clip of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto speaking during the UNGA session, claiming that he emphasised the need to recognise, respect and guarantee the security of Israel. However, the Indonesian president mentioned the two-state solution and emphasised recognition and security for both Israel and Palestine.

The 80th UNGA Session opened in New York on Sept 9. The high-level General Debate, considered the highlight of the annual gathering, commenced on Sept 23 and will continue until Sept 29. More than 150 heads of state and government are expected to address the UNGA over the week, outlining their positions on pressing global issues ranging from peace and security to climate change and sustainable development.

Indonesia currently does not recognise Israel and does not have diplomatic relations with the country. It has said that any formal recognition is contingent on the Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state.

HOW IT STARTED

On Sept 24, an Israeli user on X shared a clip of the Indonesian president speaking during the UNGA session with the following caption: “President of Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world: ‘We will have peace only when we recognise, respect, and guarantee the security of Israel.’”

The transcription of the clip shared in the post is mentioned below:

“We must also recognise, we must also respect and we must also guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then can we have real peace, real peace. Thank you.”

The post gained two million views, 12,000 reposts and 74,000 likes.

An Indian propaganda account on X also shared the same video with the following caption: “President of Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world: ‘We will have peace only when we recognise, respect, and guarantee the security of Israel. Om Shanti, Shanti Om,’ says Indonesia’s president at the end of his UN General Assembly speech.”

The post gained over 52,000 views.

The clip with the same claim was widely shared by multiple other users on X as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict and the UNGA session where many countries have been increasingly recognising a Palestinian state.

A keyword search to trace the complete video of the Indonesian president’s speech yielded his Sept 23 address on the UN’s official YouTube channel.

The transcription of the speech from the 18:14-minute mark till the end is as follows:

“To close, I would like to reiterate again Indonesia’s complete support for the two-state solution in Palestine. We must have an independent Palestine, but we must also, we must also recognise, we must also respect, and we must also guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then we can have real peace, real peace, and no longer hate, and no longer suspicion. The only solution is this two-state solution.

Two descendants of Abraham must live in reconciliation, peace, and harmony. Arabs, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, all religions, we must live as one human family. Indonesia is committed to being part of making this vision a reality.

Is this a dream? Maybe, but this is the beautiful dream that we must work together towards. Let us work towards this noble goal. Let us continue humanity’s journey of hope, a journey started by our forefathers, a journey that we must complete. Thank you.”

The transcription clearly shows the Indonesian president emphasised the two-state solution and stated the need to recognise both Palestine and Israel and to guarantee their security, instead of just particularly mentioning Israel.

The official recording shows him referring to both, in contrast to the viral clip, which highlights only Israel and attempts to create the impression that he broke with past Indonesian attitude and other Muslim countries by particularly advocating the recognition of and security for Israel.

Furthermore, an article published by Israeli news outlet The Jerusalem Post on September 24, 2025, titled: “Indonesia to recognise Israel if Palestinian state is recognised, country’s president says”, also mentioned that Prabowo claimed Indonesia would recognise Israel the same day that the Jewish state recognised a Palestinian state.

The report mentioned the Indonesian president’s remarks about Palestine and Israel together, rather than framing them as him solely talking about Israel as the viral posts did which created the impression that he was advocating for Israel above Palestine.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: MISLEADING

The claim that a viral video shows Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto emphasising the need for the recognition and security of Israel is misleading.

The viral clip is incomplete and omits the part of his speech where he mentions the two-state solution and emphasises the need to recognise and ensure the security of both Palestine and Israel.

Omitting his comments about Palestine frames them in a manner that misguides people into thinking that the leader of the biggest Muslim country does not mention or care about the country while promoting the cause of Israel.

Evidence and References

September 23, 2025, complete speech on the United Nations official YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWEwZY_aZ0s

September 24, 2025, The Jerusalem Post news article:
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-868438