The Israeli-American relationship, already
under strain during the Obama presidency, enters a new period
of uncertainty with the election of Donald Trump. Jerusalem’s
ties with Europe have also deteriorated.
As a consequence, Israel seeks closer bonds
with other major powers. One of these is India.
Twenty-first
century
geopolitics are bringing Israel and India closer together.
The force driving this is Islamism, from which both these
democracies are under attack.
As well, India faces a hostile
nuclear-armed state, Pakistan, next door, which it accuses of
supporting jihadis and fomenting violence in Muslim-majority
Kashmir, while Israel is concerned that its main adversary,
Iran, may be in the process of acquiring a nuclear capability.
As
a reaction to these external threats, the secular political
left, once led, respectively, by the Congress Party in India
and the Labour Party in Israel, has been displaced in
government by the hard-line nationalists in the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) and Likud.
India formally established full diplomatic
relations with Israel in January 1992, but under the
leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in office since
2014, ties between the two nations have greatly expanded. His
election elicited an enthusiastic response from Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
India has begun denouncing Palestinian
suicide bombings and other terrorist acts in Israel, and is no
longer initiating anti-Israel resolutions at the United
Nations.
In 2015 it abstained from voting on the UN
Human Rights Council’s condemnation of Israel’s actions during
its conflict with Hamas in Gaza a year earlier; all the
European countries on the Council voted in favour. It was the
first time in decades that India abstained from a decision
against Israel in an international forum.
After all, India’s historically pro-Arab
stance in the Middle East has not been adequately reciprocated
and rewarded by the Arab world. It has received no backing
from Arab countries in the resolution of problems it faces in
Kashmir. On the contrary, Arab nations have firmly stood by
Pakistan.
This flourishing friendship was highlighted
with the eight-day visit to India in mid-November by Israeli
President Reuven Rivlin.
“We noted the strength of our growing
defence partnership and agreed on the need to make it more
broad-based through production and manufacturing
partnerships,” Prime Minister Modi said at a joint press
conference in New Delhi.
“Our people are constantly threatened by
forces of terrorism and extremism. We recognize that terrorism
is a global challenge, knows no boundaries and has extensive
links with other forms of organized crime.”
When the Soviet Union collapsed, India
found itself with outdated military hardware and equipment
that were unsuitable for combat. At the same time, the Israeli
defence industry was developing electronic upgrades to improve
the capabilities and extend the life cycle of military
platforms such as planes, ships, and tanks. So India has now
become Israeli defence companies’ largest customer.
But the commercial ties between the two
nations also include
water treatment, telecom products, optics, metals, aviation,
agriculture, diamonds, chemicals and medical equipment.
India is Israel’s third
largest trading partner in Asia, just after China and Hong
Kong.
Bilateral
non-defence trade stands at about $5 billion. Shraga Brosh,
the president of the Manufacturers Association of Israel,
has said that he and his Indian counterpart have agreed to
work “to triple trade and cooperation between our two
countries in the coming years.”
In
a speech before the Israel-India Innovation Partnership,
Rivlin told listeners that “India is a top trading partner
for Israel today. Together, we have built a powerful and
strong market. And together we must work to make this market
even stronger.
“I
express here today an official Israeli hope that this visit
to India will open the way to a full free trade agreement
between our countries.” Rivlin’s assertion could
provide fresh momentum to the conclusion of the agreement,
which has remained elusive despite negotiations having begun
more than six years ago.
During
Rivlin’s stay in India, the two countries signed cooperation
agreements in agriculture and the management of water
resources. Rivlin observed that there are already programs
that bring thousands of Indian farmers to Israel, and that
expanding these initiatives would greatly improve their
quality of life.
He added that India can leverage Israel’s
expertise in water management through technological solutions
and “greatly benefit” from it.
Israel
also signed more than 20 education collaboration agreements
with India and its institutions of higher learning. “Ten
percent of all foreign students and scholars in Israel today
are from India, and 40 joint research projects were
supported by both governments,” Rivlin said. “I truly
believe that the academic cooperation between India and
Israel is a top priority for both nations, both people.”
Hindu-majority
India has no history of anti-Semitism, and the country is a
favorite destination for Israeli tourists, especially young
Israelis taking time off after completing their army
service.
The Israeli president laid a wreath at the
tomb of Mahatma Gandhi, and visited the sites of the November
2008 Mumbai terror attacks by Pakistani-based Islamists, which
killed 195 people, including nine Israelis.
“Nearly eight years
ago, this wonderful city was the victim of one of the most
terrifying, brutal and murderous terror attacks. Indians are
no strangers to the threat and to the reality of modern
global terrorism,” Rivlin said.
An anticipated visit by Modi to Israel next
year would demonstrate that a new era of Indian-Israeli
relations has truly begun.
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