What We Could Learn from Israel - by Vijeta Uniyal

...Recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Mumbai, Paris, Istanbul and Ankara are simply what Israel has been living with for decades -- and India, France, Belgium and Turkey do not have "settlements." The conflict is not about "settlements". It is about one group of people trying imposing its will, culture, religion and way of life on another group. With Israel, the "settlements" are only the pretext. If you look at any map of "Palestine," it has the exact outlines of Israel. It is beyond our scope, as Indians, to heal the pathologies of the Muslim world. We can only limit the damage by defending our home and securing our national borders. Until that day comes, we would all do well to stand with Israel.

Vijeta Uniyal..
Gatestone Institute..
24 March '16..

For most Indians, it is hard not to feel a deep sense of historic gratitude towards Israel and the Jewish people. The State of Israel came to our military aid in just about every war India fought as an independent nation since 1947. Our elected leaders, in their vanity, polished their statesmanlike credentials denouncing Israel at every possible international gathering, even as they kept on turning to the Jewish State for help in times of dire need, whether civilian or military. From Golda Meir to Ariel Sharon, Israel never turned down any request.

Getting nothing in return, the tiny and beleaguered nation paid a price for its support for India. At times, adversely affecting its relations with China or annoying its most vital ally, the United States, by extending support to a "socialist" country at the height of the Cold War.

If there ever was a true sign of goodwill extended from one nation to another, Israel had shown it toward India and so many other nations, from Zaire to Haiti and elsewhere.

Despite this, it took India more than four decades just to treat Israel as an equal partner on the world stage -- when India established full diplomatic relations with Israel in January 1991.

India, however, had one redeeming quality. Although our political leaders hitched their wagon to the Soviet Union and the Pan-Arab nationalism in the early days of the Cold War, the Hindus of India, who constitute an 80% majority of the country's population, have been steadfast and consistent in their support for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. An international survey conducted by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2009 found Indians having the most favorable opinion of Israel, even ahead of U.S. respondents by a small margin. In August 2014, at the height of Gaza conflict, the city of Calcutta staged a 20,000-strong rally in support of the Jewish State, making it probably the largest pro-Israel rally that Asia ever witnessed.

Finally, with the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2014, the India's official policies have begun to reflect the desires and aspirations of the majority Hindu population of the nation.

To become a successful nation, we realize that we have to emulate the Jewish quest for spiritual and worldly learning. We need a nation of empowered men and women, free and fearless to develop social, technological, entrepreneurial and humanitarian creativity, even while under constant attack.

Is Israel Really That Isolated?

...The perils for Israel in the hostility shown by many Europeans, and from the BDS movement, are real, but they should not crowd out understanding of the rest of the picture.

Elliott Abrams..
Pressure Points..
01 June '15..

It’s common to hear about Israel’s growing isolation in the world, and UN votes are sometimes held up as evidence of this. The BDS movement, especially in Europe, is also adduced to show Israel’s increasing isolation.

In that context the following announcement is of interest: the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, will become the first prime minister of India to visit Israel. India’s foreign minister made the announcement today; the dates are not yet set.

The BBC supplies some further details:

In 2000, Jaswant Singh of the then BJP-led ruling government became the first Indian foreign minister to visit Israel. Ariel Sharon was the first Israeli premier to visit India in 2003. Correspondents say trade between the two countries has grown substantially – from $200m (£130m) in 1992 to about $4.39bn in 2013. In 2013, India was Israel’s 10th largest trade partner and its third largest trade partner in Asia after China and Hong Kong. Israel has also emerged as a major defence supplier to Delhi.

The Times of India puts it this way: “Narendra Modi will be the first Indian prime minister to travel to Israel, a visit that will finally bring one of the world’s close relationships out of the closet. While dates for the trip are yet to be fixed, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj announced she would visit Israel later this year….”

Israel and What it Really Wants from Ties with China and India

...But Israel can’t rule out the possibility that public pressure will eventually produce more stringent sanctions if Jerusalem continues refusing to capitulate to EU demands on the Palestinian issue that are antithetical to its security. In short, Israel could someday face a devastating choice between its economic needs and its security needs–unless it can diversify its trade enough to be able to weather EU sanctions if and when they occur. And that’s precisely what Israel seeks from China and India, two countries with a history of not allowing policy disagreements to interfere with business

Evelyn Gordon..
Commentary Magazine..
30 September '14..

Writing in Foreign Affairs last week, Rory Miller made the classic mistake of using accurate facts to jump to an erroneous conclusion. He gleefully pronounced the failure of Israel’s effort to convert burgeoning economic ties with India and China into diplomatic capital, asserting that while Israel had expected these ties to “help secure greater international support” for its positions, in reality, China and India have both maintained staunchly pro-Palestinian policies. But though Miller is right about the Asian powers’ policies, he’s utterly wrong about the diplomatic gains Israel hoped to reap from these relationships.

For instance, Miller makes much of the fact that China still votes against Israel on every conceivable issue at the UN. But you’d have to be an idiot–which most senior Israeli politicians aren’t–to expect it to do otherwise.

Flipping China into the pro-Israel camp might be possible if and when it democratizes, since it’s one of the few countries where public opinion actually leans pro-Israel. Indeed, as the Australian paper Business Spectator noted this month, China was among the few places worldwide where Israel was actually winning the social media war during the summer’s fighting in Gaza. And it certainly makes sense for Israel to cultivate this public support in preparation for the day when democratization occurs. But right now, China remains a Communist dictatorship that sees America as its chief foreign-policy rival. Thus as long as Washington (thankfully) remains Israel’s main patron at the UN, Beijing will naturally take the anti-Israel side–not because it cares so passionately about the Palestinian cause (which, unlike Miller, I don’t believe it does), but because it cares about the anti-American cause.

India, despite growing ties with Washington, also has a long tradition of anti-Americanism, as well as a large Muslim minority. Thus New Delhi was never a likely candidate for UN support, either.

And in fact, Miller doesn’t cite any Israeli politician who actually espoused such unrealistic expectations. He simply assumes, on the basis of vague bromides like Naftali Bennett’s “diplomacy can follow economy,” that they must have held such expectations.

But in reality, Israel is seeking a very different foreign-policy benefit from its trade ties with India and China–one it has never spelled out explicitly, for very good reason: What it wants is an economic insurance policy against European countries that it still officially labels as allies.