To update the Two Nation Theory: their maximum villain-enemies are our maximum hero-friends and vice versa.
……
To his Israeli partners, Modi’s profile
as an opponent of Muslim extremism—a perceived common enemy,
particularly in the wake of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai—only
made him more appealing.
Surveys
by the Israeli Foreign Ministry have found that Indian support for
Israel is higher than in any other country polled, beating out even the
United States. “Rural Indians see Israel as an agricultural superpower,”
said Shimon Mercer-Wood, Southeast Asia desk officer at the Israeli
Foreign Ministry. “Urban India sees Israel as a leader of innovation and
entrepreneurship.”
……….
It is actually high time that Israel and India take the partnership to the next level in the civilian domain (military links are already strong).
Technology wise India needs Israel..desperately. But (as we imagine) a country with one billion friends is what Israel needs India far more, in particular in the coming days as the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign picks up steam in the West.
In the near future, it may well be that the European doors will close. Anti-semitism is right now rampant and deadly across the continent and is likely to accelerate as the Left-Islam alliance grows in strength. In the mean-time India under the Hindu Brotherhood will be shining brightly (welcome sign: swastika?)
At the same time we wish Palestine and Kashmir to remain peaceful (it will never be resolved because their sacred ground is ours as well).
It is beyond pathetic (but understandable) that people cannot see beyond their artificial communities…..all of them .
……..
Israelis who have met Narendra Modi, India’s newly elected prime
minister-designate, gush about him and what he means for Israel. At a
recent event at the Institute for National Security Studies, in Tel
Aviv, he was described in glowing terms: “outgoing”; “assertive”;
“extremely, extremely clever”; and “very tachles, very direct,
very Israeli.”
Among the calls Modi received congratulating him on his
win last week was one from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
who told
his cabinet at their weekly meeting that Modi had replied by expressing
the desire to “deepen and develop economic ties with the state of
Israel.”
….When Modi, the head of the Hindu nationalist BJP party, is sworn in
as prime minister on Monday, he will become the only Indian premier to
have ever visited the Jewish state. He has close relationships with
Israeli business leaders, and his landslide victory has left many
anticipating the possibility of a great leap forward in Indian-Israeli
relations—and with it, a billion new customers and allies.
Israel’s relationship with India has long been a quiet affair, with a
lot going on behind the scenes, but not much happening in public.
Though India voted to recognize Israel in 1950, successive governments
in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s avoided public ties with Jerusalem,
partly to appease India’s large Muslim minority and partly out of a
desire to avoid alienating Arab allies. India didn’t establish official
relations with Israel until 1992, making it the last non-Arab,
non-Muslim country in the world to do so.
Despite this, commercial ties, technology sharing, space exploration,
and military cooperation between the two countries have all grown
vigorously in recent years. Bilateral trade has shot up from less than
$200 million in 1992 to almost $4.4 billion in 2013 (not including
weapons sales, which account for billions more). The growth in bilateral
trade has been driven largely by precious stones and by defense
spending. The exception is in Gujarat, the state where Narendra Modi has
served as chief minister for the past 13 years.
In Gujarat, Israeli industry was not only welcomed by Modi but actively pursued. Huge tenders for a semiconductor plant , a new port , and a desalination plant
were awarded to Israeli bidders. Israeli agriculture, pharmaceutical,
alternative energy, and information technology companies have flourished
there. This isn’t incidental: Modi’s campaign was based on replicating
his economic success in Gujarat on a national scale, and much of that
success was tied up with Israel.
In Gujarat, Modi emphasized privatization and small government. He
opened financial and technological parks, brought in foreign investment,
and cracked down on corruption. Under his administration, the state’s
economy expanded by more than 10 percent annually. In 2010, in Modi’s third term in office, Forbes named Gujarat’s largest city, Ahmedabad, as the third-fastest growing city in the world.
Modi’s career was nearly derailed in 2002 when riots broke out in
Ahmedabad; an estimated 1,000 Muslims were killed by Hindu radicals
during the violence. Modi’s government was accused of not doing enough
to stop the massacre, and while Modi was cleared of any wrongdoing by
the Indian Supreme Court’s Special Investigation Team in 2009, he was banned
from visiting the United States over his role in the violence—a
circumstance that drove Modi to develop relationships with other foreign
partners, particularly Israel and Japan, instead.
In 2006, Modi accepted an invitation to visit Israel for an
agricultural technology conference. The five-day trip sparked an ongoing
relationship; Modi began encouraging partnerships with Israeli
ministries and advised his constituents to study Israeli agricultural
and water-management systems.
To his Israeli partners, Modi’s profile
as an opponent of Muslim extremism—a perceived common enemy,
particularly in the wake of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai—only
made him more appealing.
Modi’s BJP has often been supportive of Israel. Though diplomatic
relations between New Delhi and Jerusalem were first officially
established under the dominant Congress Party in 1992, it was during the
last BJP coalition government, between 1999 and 2004, that the
relationship blossomed. India’s Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, of the
BJP Party, visited Israel in 2000, and in 2003 Ariel Sharon became the
first Israeli leader to visit India.
According to a report in the International Business Times,
Modi has suggested that he may make the first official state visit by a
sitting prime minister to Israel during his term of office. His timing
is impeccable: The Indian public seems especially well primed for a
closer alliance with Israel as well.
Surveys
by the Israeli Foreign Ministry have found that Indian support for
Israel is higher than in any other country polled, beating out even the
United States. “Rural Indians see Israel as an agricultural superpower,”
said Shimon Mercer-Wood, Southeast Asia desk officer at the Israeli
Foreign Ministry. “Urban India sees Israel as a leader of innovation and
entrepreneurship.”
…
In the last few months a string of cooperative anti-terror agreements
was signed between the two countries; negotiations over a Free Trade
Agreement are ongoing. One of the largest Indian business delegations
ever to visit Israel will be attending the MIXiii conference in Tel Aviv this month. But Modi’s victory has the potential to send these efforts into overdrive.
….
“Modi likes Israeli Chutzpah,” said a senior member of the AgileTree
investment company who has dealt personally with him in Gujarat for
years and asked to remain anonymous because of continuing business
operations with both major parties. “If only a fraction of what happened
in Gujarat will happen in India as a whole, the state of Israel will be
one of the biggest beneficiaries.”
……
Link: http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/173767/modi-israels-new-best-friend
….
regards