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Indo-Israeli relations

Relations between Israel and Republic of India did not exist until 1992 but since then the two countries have developed relationships. India did not recognize the state of Israel until then for two main reasons. Firstly, although India belonged to Non-Aligned Movement, it was an ally of the USSR, and yet followed the general pattern of non-aligned countries with regards to foreign relations. Secondly, India was a strong supporter of the Palestinian independence. In 1947 New-Delhi proposed to the Special Committee of the United Nations on Palestine (UNSCOP) the creation of a federal Palestine with autonomous status for the Jewish population. After the Kashmiri insurrection in 1989, the collapse of the USSR and the military escalation with Pakistan, the political framework changed, resulting in the establishment of relations between India and Israel in 1992. The loss of the Indian National Congress in the general elections and the coming of the Bharatiya Janata Party, along with concerns about fundamentalism in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent are also to take into consideration. Establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel also was a step in strengthening relationships with the United States The level of collaboration between the two countries was pursued even after the Indian National Congress returned to power in 2004. Israel is now India's second largest arms provider after Russia. India is viewed by both the Israelis and the Palestinians as a trustworthy intermediary.

1940s to 1980s

India gained independence from the British Empire in 1947, a year before the State of Israel was founded. India was opposed to the creation of Israel for a philosophical reason, it did not like the concept of creation of nations based on religion. This was to keep India and Pakistan in one country. Due to its opposition for creation of Pakistan based on Islam, it opposed the creation of Israel as a nation for Jews. Before Israel was created, a number of countries sent their representatives and the representative from India was a Muslim. Though Gandhi had a good relationship with Jews, he opposed the creation of Israel as he was against the creation of countries based on religion. India did not have any official relations with Israel until 1991 due to its problem with Palestine. Despite this, its military had an excellent relationship with Israel. People like Moshe Dayan have had interaction with India despite the lack of diplomatic relationship between the two countries. Israel has provided India with crucial information during multiple wars that India faced.

India's first Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru supported the creation of Israel. Muslims in India were largely pro-Arab and the Congress-led Indian government did not want to publicly take a pro-Israel stance. India recognized Israel as a nation in 1950. Another factor which affected India-Israel diplomatic relationship was the Kashmir dispute. During the First Kashmir War, India's neighbor, Pakistan, referred the Kashmir issue to the United Nations Security Council. Had India established diplomatic relations with Israel, it was thought in Indian power circles, that the Arab nations would favor Pakistan's claim over India's to Kashmir. In private though, Indian political leaders have expressed their support for Israel. In a statement in 1954, Nehru said he would not "be a party to a resolution which stated that the creation of Israel was a violation of international law". He also wrote a letter to Frances Gunther expressing his support for the general Jewish behavior in Palestine. Various Hindu organizations, led by the Sangh Parivar, openly supported the Jewish cause and the creation of Israel. The opposition to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1960s and 1970s arose from the left-wing Congress Party's desire to appease Muslims and a desire for the Muslim vote-bank.

1992 onwards

In 1986, the members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) issued a joint declaration supporting Pakistan's claim over Kashmir. Relations between India and the OIC became tense in 2001 when the latter criticised India for taking insufficient action to stop the alleged human rights violations against Muslims in the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir. India dismissed these allegations as baseless and Pakistani propaganda. India responded to the anti-India position taken by the OIC by re-evaluating its Middle East policy.

Intelligence and military

India and Israel have increased cooperation in military and intelligence ventures since the establishment of diplomatic relations. While India and Israel were officially "rivals" during the Cold War, the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of Islamic terrorism in both countries have generated a solid strategic alliance.. India recently launched a military satellite for Israel.

During the Kargil War, Israel provided military hardware, including laser guided bombs and unmanned aerial vehicles to help it to flush out the Pakistani infiltrators in Kargil. This relationship soon developed into a major defense partnership between India and Israel.

In 1997 Israel's President Ezer Weizman became the first head of the Jewish state to visit India. He met with Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma, Vice President K.R. Narayanan and Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. Weizman negotiated the first weapons deal between the two nations, involving the purchase of Barak-1 vertically-launched surface-to-air (SAM) missiles from Israel. The Barak-1 has the ability to intercept anti-ship cruise missiles such as the Harpoon. The purchase of the Barak-1 missiles from Israel by India was a tactical necessity since Pakistan had purchased P3-C II Orion maritime strike aircraft and 27 Harpoon sea-skimming anti-ship missiles from the United States.

Strategic naval cooperation

In naval terms Israel sees great strategic value in an alliance with the Indian Navy, given India's dominance of South Asian waters. It would be advantageous to the Israeli Navy to establish a logistical infrastructure in the Indian Ocean with the cooperation of the Indian Navy, since the Mediterranean has a dominant Arab and European presence that is hostile to the Israeli navy in varying degrees. In 2000, Israeli submarines reportedly conducted test launches of cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads in the waters of the Indian Ocean, off the Sri Lanka coast.

Air Force contracts

In 1996 India purchased 32 Searcher" Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Electronic Support Measure sensors and an Air Combat Manoeuvering Instrumentation simulator system from Israel. Since then Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) has serviced several large contracts with the Indian Air Force including the upgrading of the IAF's Russian-made MiG-21 ground attack aircraft and there have been further sales of unmanned aerial vehicles as well as laser-guided bombs.

Intelligence

A Rediff story in 2003 revealed that the Indian intelligence agency RAW had clandestine links with the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. When RAW was founded in 1968 by Rameshwar Kao, he was advised by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to cultivate links with Mossad. This was suggested as a countermeasure to military links between Pakistan, a nation hostile to India, and North Korea. Also, Israel was concerned that Pakistani army officers were training Libyans and Iranians to handle Chinese and North Korean military equipment. This link enabled India to get wind of Pakistan's plans to build a nuclear reactor at Kahuta. Though India planned to bomb Kahuta, in Operation Opera, where Israel destroyed an Iraqi nuclear reactor, the plan was later dropped.

The Pakistanis eventually started to suspect intelligence relations between India and Israel resulting in a threat to Pakistani security. When young Israeli tourists began visiting the Kashmir valley in the early nineties, Pakistan suspected they were disguised Israeli army officers there to help Indian security forces with counter-terrorism operations. Pakistani intelligence inspired a series of terrorist attacks on the unsuspecting Israeli tourists with one slain and another kidnapped. Intense pressure from the Kashmiri Muslim diaspora in the United States led to their release.

2007 IAI deal

Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd has signed a $2.5 billion deal with India to develop an anti-aircraft system and missiles for the country, in the biggest defense contract in the history of Israel at the time. IAI CEO Yitzhak Nissan recently visited India to finalize the agreement with heads of the defense establishment and the country's president. The Indian government has already approved the project, in the framework of which the IAI will develop for the Indian Navy and Air Force the Barak-8 missile that is capable of protecting sea vessels and ground facilities from aircraft and cruise missiles. The missile has a range of over 70 kilometres. The missile will replace the current obsolete Russian system used by India.

Science and technology

India is building closer ties with Israel in the areas of nanotechnology, alternative fuels, agriculture, animal husbandry and space research.

Israel's Minister for Science and Technology, Eliezer Moodi Sandberg, said in 2003 that Israel was keen on strengthening science and technology ties with India considering that the latter had a rich base of scientists and technologists and the two countries could benefit by synergising their activities.

Various activities under Indo-Israel Cooperation in Science & Technology continued during the 1999 2000 year, including 22 joint research projects. Work on six projects was completed by 2002. Twelve scientists from both countries visited the laboratories of their collaborators and two exploratory visits from India were also supported with three young Indian scientists deputed to Israel on short term exchange visits.

The Indo-Israel Joint Symposium on Human Genome was held in Jerusalem in 1998 with 6 Indian scientists working in the area. Subsequently, as a follow up to the symposium, a call for joint research proposals on Human Genome was issued in July 1999 for which 11 proposals were received. Out of these, 6 research projects have been recommended for implementation. Another Indo-Israel status seminar on human Genome Research was organized in India on December 2000.

In 2003 the two countries proposed to double the investment under the ongoing science and technology collaboration to $1 million with $0.5 million from each country in the next biennial period starting October 2004.

The Indo-Israel Joint Committee of scientists was constituted with the DST (Department of Science and Technology)and India as Co-chairmen with representatives from various research organizations in India and the Ministry of Information Technology as members. The 4th Meeting of the joint committee was held in the first week of November 1999 in Jerusalem, attended by a 3 member Indian delegation.In 2004, the Ministry of Science and Technology in India signed an MoU with Israel for jointly funding industrial R&D projects.

In an agreement signed on May 30, 2005, India and Israel pledged to set up a fund to encourage investment and joint industrial ventures. According to the Press Trust of India, there are five priority areas for enhanced collaboration: nanotechnology, biotechnology, water management, alternative energy, and space and aeronautics. India and Israel will each start by contributing US$1 million to provide risk-free grants to entrepreneurs in the two countries.

Satellite Launching

Israel's Minister for Science and Technology has expressed interest in collaborating with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) towards utilizing satellites for better management of land and other resources. Israel has also expressed interest in participating in ISRO's Chandrayaan mission of sending an unmanned craft to the moon.A Memorandum of Understanding, signed by ISRO and Israel's space agency, provides for cooperation in multiple areas of space science and technology

In a significant move, Israel chose India to launch its satellites, instead of using its own home grown Shavit rocket. This is due to the cost of the PSLV being no more than $15 million, while that of Shavit is close to $20 million. The latest Israeli Radar Satellite, Tecsar, was launched by India on 22 January, 2008.

Ariel Sharon's visit to India

In 2003 Ariel Sharon was the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India. He was welcomed by the center-right wing Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance coalition government of India. Several newspapers expressed positive views on his visit, and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee voiced confidence that Sharon's visit would pave the way for further consolidating bilateral ties and said there was no dilution of the country's stand on the Palestinian issue.

Negative response

Sharon's visit was condemned by some, especially in leftist and Muslim circles. Hundreds of supporters of India's various pro-Islamic communist parties rallied in New Delhi, denouncing the visit. Muslims accused Sharon of being a "terrorist and a war criminal". Nearly 100 Muslims were arrested.

Students of the Aligarh Muslim University joined the protests of Sharon's visit, denounced him as a "terrorist," and demanded that India sever all ties with Israel and increase ties with Palestine.

Newspapers like The Times of India and Outlook expressed "concern" over "India's changing priorities", accusing India of "turning away" from the cause of supporting the Palestinians and other "oppressed peoples". Urdu-language newspapers such as Slasat launched a campaign against Sharon, accusing Israel of "aggressive and fascistic inclinations".

Positive response

Sharon was welcomed by many in India, including some politicians. The Hindi-language daily Navbharat Times condemned protests made against him and wrote that none of Sharon's controversies can justify demonstrations planned in protest of his visit by some Indian opposition parties "because he is coming as the prime minister of Israel, which is an important friend of India". Articles in The Indian Express agreed with this view, noting that the issue of India's relations with Israel "instantly polarises hard-nosed pragmatists from dewy-eyed idealists", which is "regrettable, for cementing geo-political and trade links with Israel need in no way weaken New Delhi's traditional insistence that Palestinians be granted control of their territories".

In addition the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) condemned the left wing groups for protesting against Sharon. RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav said:

The entire world acknowledges that Israel has effectively and ruthlessly countered terror in the Middle East. Since India and Israel are both fighting a war against terrorism, therefore, we should learn a lesson or two from them. We need to have close cooperation with them in this field.

The RSS newspaper Panchjanya dubbed those advocating friendship with Pakistan as the ones responsible for encouraging terrorist activities in India, and described the visit of Ariel Sharon as an opportunity for India to get closer to Israel and fight terrorism jointly.

In addition, Israeli newspapers such as The Jerusalem Post wrote positively about Sharon's visit, saying that the Indo-Israeli relationship is "now coming to full bloom" and "turning India into one of Israel's main allies".The Jerusalem post also wrote that "securing relations with an emerging power is important because it proves Israel can make friends with nations other than America and Micronesia in this unfriendly world", further stressing that both India and Israel are vibrant democracies with ancient civilizations to boast about, and praising the treatment of Indian Jews and the fact that they have not been persecuted by anti-Semitism, and that both India and Israel face the ongoing threat from fanatic Islamic fundamentalism. Also, Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz argued that India's improved relationship with Washington has encouraged it "to think in terms of a triangular alliance in which India and Israel would act as cushions providing stability in the tumultuous South Asia-Middle East regions, areas that face threats posed by terror, and by dictatorial regimes of Arab, Muslim states". Ha'aretz encouraged New Delhi to translate its openness towards Israel into changing its voting pattern at the United Nations with regards to the Arabs.

The various Jewish communities in India expressed satisfaction at Sharon's visit, though some regretted that Sharon could not visit them in person, and some Indian Jews opined that it would have been better if a previous head of state from Israel had visited India. Sharon's visit sparked an interest in the small Indian Jewish communities.The Mumbai Jewish community, which had prepared a "hero's welcome" for Sharon, was saddened that Sharon could not visit them because of constraints. However, Solomon Sopher, the chairman of several prominent synagogues in the city was happy with Sharon's visit to India, saying that it would go a long way towards strengthening India-Israel ties. Sopher lauded Vajpayee's and Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani's initiative towards Sharon, saying that the visit has helped India and Israel come closer in the fields of environment, agriculture, defence and in combating terrorism.

Conclusion of visit

Most of Sharon's activities in India went unhindered and were largely productive towards cementing the India-Israel alliance. The central topic of the dialogues between the Indians and the Israeli delegation was the mutual problem of Islamic fundamentalism and Islamic terrorism in both countries, and how India and Israel can join forces to defeat this enemy. Israeli deputy minister Josef Lapid said that both India and Israel face "threats from fanatic Muslims and terrorism". While delivering a lecture on 'The Global War Against Terror -- Israel and India' organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in Delhi, he stressed that Israel has developed an excellent military and defense system to combat terrorism and the technology would be very beneficial to India. Since India had been experiencing terrorism more than western Countries, its leaders understood him better than others.

Sharon expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the talks with Indian leaders, saying that the landmark visit would result in upgradation of bilateral relations to new heights. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also expressed satisfaction, saying that the visit would increase ties between India and Israel. Sharon also invited Vajpayee to visit Israel. Sharon himself spoke positively of the importance of his hosts. Sharon himself said that Israelis "regard India to be one of the most important countries in the world,", and Vajpayee was sure that Sharon's visit would bring the two states closer together. Sharon said that terrorism was a menace that required an international response.

2007 Jewish-Hindu leadership summit

The world's first Jewish-Hindu interfaith leadership summit,spearheaded by Hindu organizations in India and Jewish organizations in Israel, as well as the American Jewish Committee, was held in New Delhi on February 2007. The chief Rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger, was actively involved in the dialogue, together with Swami Dayanand Saraswati. They stated that "The Jewish and Hindu communities are committed to the ancient traditions of Judaism and Hindu dharma respectively, and have both, in their own ways, gone through the painful experiences of persecution, oppression and destruction.", among others. Mertzger quoted:

"For thousands of years we have marched on parallel causes and have now built bridges of cooperation between the two religions. Jews have lived in India for over 2000 years and have never been discriminated against. This is something unparalleled in human history".

Visits of Indian politicians to Israel

2000

In 2000 Jaswant Singh became the first Indian foreign minister to visit Israel. Following the visit, the two countries set up a joint anti-terror commission. The foreign ministers of the two countries say intensified cooperation will range from areas such as counter terrorism to information technology.

2006

In early 2006 Indian government ministers Sharad Pawar, Kapil Sibal and Kamal Nath visited Israel.

Bnei Menashe controversy

The Bnei Menashe ("Children of Menasseh", Hebrew בני מנשה) are a group of more than 8,000 people from India's remote North-Eastern border states of Manipur and Mizoram who claim descent from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Ethnically and linguistically, they are Tibeto-Burmans and belong to the Mizo, Kuki and Chin peoples (the terms are virtually interchangeable). Prior to their conversion by British missionaries in the 19th century, they were animists.

On March 31, 2005 Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar, one of Israel's two chief rabbis, accepted the Bnei Menashe's claim because of their exemplary devotion to Judaism. His decision was significant because it paved the way for all of the Bnei Menashe to enter Israel under Israel's Law of Return.In the past two decades, some 1,300 Bnei Menashe have moved to Israel.

In June 2003 Israeli Interior Minister Avraham Poraz halted Bnei Menashe immigration to Israel following charges by Ofir Pines-Paz (Minister of Science and Technology, 2006) that the Bnei Menashe "are being cynically exploited for political purposes." Arutz Sheva quoted Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum, a rabbinical judge dealing with the conversion of Bnei Menashe, as saying that the Knesset Absorption Committee's decision was one of "ignorance, racism, and unjustifiable hate."

Rabbi Eliyahu Birnbaum says that community members who move to Israel in fact suffer financially because their move is motivated by a desire to return to the Holy Land and not material gain.

Michael Freund has suggested that the Bnei Menashe could help with Israel's demographic problem saying "I believe that groups like the Bnei Menashe constitute a large, untapped demographic reservoir for Israel and the Jewish people."

With the March 2005 decision by Rabbi Amar, the immigration issue seemed to have been rendered moot. The Bnei Menashe's Orthodox conversion would in the future be conducted in India, and they would be recognized as wholly Jewish prior to their arrival in Israel. However, this solution was short-lived because the government of India, under pressure from Mizo-Kuki churches and Fundamentalist Christian preachers, objected formally to the conversion of its citizens. This ignited a furious controversy in Mizoram, culminating in top-rating television debates. The opposition mainly came from fundamentalist Christian preachers such as Chuauthuama of the Aizawl Theological College , and Biaksiama from Aizawl's Christian Research Centre.

On November 9, 2005 the Israeli government halted all conversions of the Bnei Menashe in India, saying it was straining relations between the two countries. Indian officials reportedly expressed concern about the conversions and indicated mass conversions are considered illegal in India. Concern may have been triggered after a task force from the Rabbinic Court travelled to India in September 2005 to complete the conversion process for 218 Bnei Menashe.

The decision by the Israeli government led to criticism from supporters of the Bnei Menashe who say Israeli officials failed to explain to the Indian government that the rabbis were not proselytising, but rather formalizing the conversions of Bnei Menashe who had already accepted Judaism .

The Indian government's complaint was also criticized by some Hindu groups in India, who claim that the Indian government takes Christian complaints more seriously than theirs, and that Hindus have complained for years about Christian proselytizing without government response.

In July 2006 Israeli Immigration Absorption Minister Zeev Boim said that the 218 Bnei Menashe who were formally converted in 2005 by the Chief Rabbinate "would be allowed to come here, but first the government must decide what its policy will be towards those who have yet to (formally) convert" . In response Michael Freund said that Boim may devise a policy concerning the Bnei Menashe remaining in India, but must allow the converted Bnei Menashe to immigrate to Israel without bureaucratic delays Freund says that he has engaged "a prominent lawyer" and is prepared to take the minister to the Supreme Court if he does immediately facilitate the arrival of the Bnei Menashe.

The Bnei Menashe have not suffered anti-Semitism in India, but over 1300 have migrated to Israel as they regard the country as their homeland and decided to emigrate "on Zionist considerations."