Similarities, Importance and Challenges ahead for Alliance

between India & Israel S. Joshi @For Israel

30 minute presentation

Scheduled Date: December 1th 2010

Content of Presentation

• Why engage with India• Similarities• Common threats• Military Relation• Indian Tourism • Jews in India• Cultural Exchanges• Case of Mumbai Attack• More Places to read about

Why engage with India ?

Facts about India• Largest Democracy of world• Largest agricultural producing country • 2nd highest population (1.15 billion)• 2nd fastest growing economy in World (growing at 8-

9%), to be fastest by 2020• 3rd Largest Standing Army• 7th Largest Area (Big nation of many states)• India is the first country to detect water on the moon

ISRO works closely and launched Israeli spy missiles• Check out Wiki : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India

India Supports Israel more than any other Nation on Earth (58%) : Rank 1!!!• The poll has found that the people of

India are Israel’s best friends, at least among the larger powers: 58 percent of Indians surveyed said that they support Israel.

• 56 percent of U.S. citizens expressed support for Israel, as did 52 percent of Russians, 50 percent of Mexicans, 48 percent of Chinese and 39 percent of Italians.

• Survey done by (IsraelNationalNews.com) http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Ne

ws.aspx/130751

Major Issues Surrounding the

two nations

• Both state are democracies surrounded by nations that support and use terror and use terror as a proxy war

• Together with the international community and as victims of terrorism, Israel and India are partners in the battle against this scourge

• Both are facing discrimination on issues of Palestine and Kashmir respectively by the world community

• Both are targeted by Jihadist or Radical Islam where the top two issues remain Palestine and Kashmir

• Both states believe that the UN intervention is not always accurate. Complex issues are often labeled as human rights violations rather than counterterrorism.

Common Threat of Islamic terrorism

for both the countries

• The two issues that the terrorist use as an excuse to indulge in voilence is Kashmir and Gaza

• Likewise there is a democratically elected government which is there in Jammu & Kashmir which though comes under the federation of India

• 400000 of Kashmiri Hindus had to leave the state due to Islamic terrorism during 1989-91

• JACK FREDERICK RALPH JACOB was one of the notable Indian Jew who was a leading personality and fought for India in the Bangladesh in 1971 war

• Kashmir is a state which has the high population of Muslim in India where Hindu pundits were forced to leave due to ongoing Islamic terrorism from 1989 onwards

Military Relations

• Both state survived and won the two major war in the same decade Israel won 1967 war in just 6 days & India won 1971 war in just 13 days.Both the above mentioned wars have altered the geography of Asia incredibly.

• Israel supported India during the Kargil War, India’s only war in the last 4 decades. • Purchase of the Barak-1 missiles from Israel by India• Israel did not condemn India's 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests• India purchased 32 Searcher" Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Electronic Support

Measure sensors and an Air Combat Manoeuvering Instrum• Israel Aircraft Industries upgraded 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 bombsentation simulator system from Israel

• Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd signed a $2.5 billion deal with India to develop an anti-aircraft system and missiles for the country

• Israel surpassed Russia as the largest arms supplier to India

India is the hottest place for tourism for Israelis: Experience the spirituality and

peace• Pushkar, Rajasthan is a very good place• India is a big destination for Israeli tourists.• They usually visit the states of Goa, and Himachal Pradesh. Similarly,

Israel is a destination for religious tourism for the 15,000 Indian Jews.• After completing their military service, many Israeli youths embark on

a pseudo Grand Tour of which India is usually a popular component.• Jews in India not only are liberated to celebrate their festivals but they

mix with Indians to celebrate also .(said by Rabbi Abraham Benjamin, Official Rabbi of India, Shaar Hashamaim Synagogue, Thane)

Jews of India 1 The Cochin Jews arrived in India 2,500 years ago and settled down

in Kerala as traders.

2 The Bene Israel arrived in the state of Maharashtra 2,100 years ago.

3 The Baghdadi Jews arrived in the city Mumbai from Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan, and Arab countries about 250 years ago.

4 The Bnei Menashe are Mizo and Kuki tribesmen in Manipur and Mizoram who descend from the tribe of Manasseh.

5 The Bene Ephraim (also called "Telugu Jews") are a small group who speak Telugu; their observance of Judaism dates to 1981.

• Prominent Indian Jews

1 Jacqueline Bhabha, philosopher, wife of Homi K. Bhabha

2 J F R Jacob - former Governor of Punjab and Goa; the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command

3 Nadira - an Indian actress of the 1950s and 1960s.

Recent Jewish-Hindu Interfaith Seminars

• Jews have lived in India for over 2000 years and have never been discriminated against.

• Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in India in recorded history.

• The world's first Jewish-Hindu interfaith leadership summit spearheaded by Hindu organizations in India and Jewish organizations in Israel was held in New Delhi on February 2007.

• Hindu Leaders meet chief Rabbis and PM of Israel on Feb 26 2008 at the invitation of the Israeli foreign ministry, the American Jewish Association, the World Council of Religious Leaders and the Rabbinate of Israel.

• The American Jewish Committee hosted a celebratory evening event at the Second International Hindu-Jewish Summit in Jerusalem on February 19, 2008.

CULTURAL EXCHANGES• At least 20 books of Indian Poets have been translated into Hebrew • The poetry of Rabindranath Tagore is highly popular.• The Shalom Namaste Troupe, a unique dance troupe from Israel, the

majority of whose members are Jews of Indian origin, performed in three Indian cities – Delhi, Shillong- Meghalaya and Mumbai in December 2007

• An Israeli film, ‘You Want to Make a Movie’ by Gali Weintraub, was screened in the We Care Film Festival organized in Delhi in association with the Asian Academy of Film &Television

Similarities between Hinduism and Judaism

• Both are very old religion• Both religion believe in One Supreme God• Neither seeks to proselytize, nor undermine or replace in

any way the religious identities of other faith communities• Both the religion works on the same aspect ie to serve the

humanity and to the world• Both traditions affirm the sanctity of life and

condemn all acts of violence in the name of any religion• Both communities recognize the need for

understanding one another in terms of lifestyles,philosophy, religious symbols,culture, etc.

Some more Similarities (Needs more rigorous understanding)

• Hinduism gave rise to Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism whereas Judaism gave rise to Christianity and Islam

• 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.

• We have two important rivers: Jordan andGanga.

• The festivals of Purim and Holi, comingin the springtime, signify triumph of good over evil are in both traditions.

• Essence of both traditions is Atmanah pratikulani paresham nasamacharet. That means do not do unto others what you do not want to have done to you. Om.

• With regard to purity, will be familiar with the Jewish tradition of purification called the Mikvah, and there are many Jews who use this ablution daily for purification.

Current terrorist attack in Mumbai

• The 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks were more than ten coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai

• The attacks, which drew widespread condemnation across the world, began on 26 November 2008 and lasted until 29 November, killing at least 173 people and wounding at least 308

• Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati ShivajiTerminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower,LeopoldCafe, Cama Hospital (a women and children's hospital), the Orthodox Jewish-owned Nariman House,the Metro Cinema, and a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier's College there were at least eight Israelis inside the house.

• Israel had offered a forty-strong team of special operation forces and assistance in investigations

• Israel condemned the terror attack in Mumbai and described it as another painful testimony that terrorism is the main challenge that Israel and the International community are dealing with.

Holocaust of Hindus

• We have both experienced the persecution of intolerant rulers. We also have been subject to the holocaust during colonial times.

• Examples in India: The Delhi Emperor, Aurangzeb cherished the ambition of converting India into a land of Islam. This philosophy was also pleaded by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi(1569-1624), leader of the Naqashbandi School, to counter the liberal policies of Akbar's reign.

• The Emperor's experiment was first carried out in Kashmir. The viceroy of Kashmir, Iftikar Khan (1671-1675) carried out the policy vigorously and set about converting non-Muslims by force.

http://www.indojudaic.com/ Distribution of Jews in India

http://www.khazaria.com/katz.html

India may be the only country in the world that has been free of anti-Semitic : Gary Weiss

India is extremely diverse

Diversity Makes it hard to Engage with Indians

Two opposite kind of ideologies can be found in India which are based on various factors:

1. Hindu vs. Muslims (15% of India is Islamic, which is 2nd

highest Muslim population of the world)2. North Indians (have experienced wars and encounter

terror so support Israel) vs. South Indians (they are busy in local issues)

3. East Indians (Ruled by communist part which conditionally support Israel) vs. West Indians (Highly Support Israel)

4. Urban vs. Rural (nearly same behavior)5. Most supportive people comes from Mumbai (Bombay)

and New Delhi

Indian groups Supporting Israel

• Classification based on States in USA:

• Maharashtra

• South India

• East India

• West India

Rough Estimations

Spirituality and Links between Judaism & Hinduism : The eternal Dharma

Dr. Nathan Katz, Director and ProfessorAddress: Florida International University Dept. of Religious Studies, Miami, Floridahttp://www.indojudaic.com/

Complexities in relation• India is concerned about the unrest that the 15-20% Muslim population

can cause while still wants to closely engage with Israel. India is home to around 0.15-0.20 billion Muslim population the rest being Hindus

• India depends on Arab states for oil where it imports 1/3 crude oil from states like UAE and Iran

• Some reports say : Iran allows India to use its territory for paramilitary against Pakistan which is its main adversary, as Pakistani nuclear weapons are major threat to India

• India is worried about China supporting Pakistan, India worried about Naxalite issue which has a dimension of Maoism in it (Maoist is an extremist ideology)

• India still has its 2nd largest defense supplier as Russia

Places to read about the subject

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Israeli_relations#Military_and_strategic_ties

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asian_Jews#India3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Jews4. http://www.aspenindia.org/india_israel_new.asp5. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign+Relations/Bilateral+relations/

Delhi+Statement+on+Friendship+and+Cooperation+betw.htm6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactions_to_the_2008_Mumbai_at

tacks7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nariman_House8. Who are the Jews of India? By Nathan Katz9. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/indians.html10. http://www.bloggersbase.com/travel/religions-and-rituals-in-

india/