India and Israel share a deep and multi-dimensional relationship that dates back to around 2000 BC as was proven by the Tel Megiddo excavations that shed light on Indian trade relations with areas around the Mediterranean. Geographical analysis suggests that the authors of the Old Testament knew about India, where the trade of animals such as monkeys and peacocks existed. Judaism was one of the first foreign religions to arrive in India in recorded history and Indian Jews are a religious minority, but unlike many parts of the world, have historically lived in India without a single instance of persecution.
While some allegedly arrived during the time of the Kingdom of Judah others are seen by some as descendants of Israel’s Ten Lost Tribes. According to Chaim Menachem Rabin, the first recorded contact between the two civilizations was during the reign of King Solomon, in the 10th century BCE. Since then, Jewish emigrants have settled in various parts of India over many centuries: those in Kochi, trace their origin back to the time of King Solomon and are called Cochini Jews; Paradesi Jews migrated to Kochi during the 15th and 16th centuries following the expulsion of Jews from Spain.
The trade relations between both cultures can be traced back to 1,000 BCE and even earlier to the times of the Babylonian and Sindhu-Saraswati civilizations. Linguistic similarities between the Semitic and Indo-Aryan languages also point toward a long history of contact. Judea was a transit route in the trade between the Roman Empire and India during the Roman rule in Judea as is known from the fact that expensive garments in the Temple in Jerusalem were imported from India via Alexandria.
In medieval times the Persian Empire ruled the territories from the Mediterranean to the Indus, thereby forging close links between the two nations. The medieval era saw both these cultures being ruled by Islamic rulers (Afghans and Mughals in India, with Ottoman Turks in West Asia), which was then followed by a considerable period of colonial rule under the British Empire. Direct bilateral engagements began between the two only after the achievement of political independence and the establishment of both nations as a State.Â
Non–Reciprocal Phase (1948–1992)Â
Pre-partition politics saw the movement to support Khilafat by Gandhiji which was seen as instrumental in mobilizing the Indian Muslims for the Indian freedom struggle. Naturally, the attitude towards the Turkish empire and Palestinians got shaped by these beliefs which continued even after Indian independence. India got formal independence on 15th August 1947 and Israel got it on 4 May 1948, following World War II, only after difficult struggles against British colonial rule amidst considerable bloodshed, undergoing painful partitions, and harrowing population transfers. And in both cases, independence was led by pragmatic nationalists, – Mapai in Israel and Indian National Congress in India. Three months after achieving its independence, India opposed the 1947 UN partition proposal calling for the establishment of a Jewish state. In 1949, India voted against Israel’s UN membership. Although on September 17, 1950, it recognized Israel, India maintained a distant relation; permitting Israel to open a consulate in Mumbai, while refusing the opening of an embassy in New Delhi. India’s position on the establishment of the State of Israel was affected by many factors, including India’s own partition on religious lines, and India’s relationship with other nations; a perception that Israel was a state based on religion, analogous to Pakistan. But even then, PM Nehru remained much admired and retained the aura of a principled and progressive international statesman amongst the Israeli population.Â
The baggage of India’s leadership of the non-alignment movement, the desire for the Arab bloc’s neutrality on Kashmir, and the sentiments of the Muslim electorate at home all loomed large over the incipient partnership and establishing overtly visible relations between the two countries. Additionally, India did not want to jeopardize the large diaspora working in Arab countries who were instrumental to maintain the forex reserves for India; as also the energy security of the oil-dependent Indian economy, at a time when the world was experiencing ‘oil shocks’.Â
After its foundation in 1968, the first Chief of R&AW, R.N. Kao was advised by the then PM Indira Gandhi to cultivate links with Mossad as a counter to the rising China-Pakistan-North Korea axis. The year 1971 also saw Israel standing in support of India in the war with Pakistan.
Israel has thus been pragmatic about the Indian decision to chart out an independent and non-prescriptive policy in the region – a mark of supportive diplomacy and pragmatism on the part of the hardcore realists that the Israelis are, as they realize very well the Indian concerns and geopolitical compulsions. Other factors influencing India’s foreign policy on Israel back then were:
- Support for the Palestinian cause,Â
- Tilt towards the USSR during the Cold War,
- Desire to counter Pakistan’s influence with the Arab states,Â
- Cold war politics with close relations with the Soviet bloc and the Arab world, while Israel was an ally of the United States and NATO.Â
The end of the Cold War led to the beginning of a series of bilateral activities between both nations.
1992 onwards till present
The 1991 Madrid Middle East peace conference created a window for India to finally move to upgrade ties, immediately following China’s example in agreeing with Israel to the reciprocal opening of embassies and an exchange of ambassadors.Â
Israel and India established full diplomatic relations on January 29, 1992, which have evolved since then into a multi-faceted strategic partnership. Bilateral cooperation has expanded across the board to defense, intelligence, counterterrorism, cyber, innovation, investment, trade, agri-science, water management, green energy, space, water conservation, traditional medicines, film production, space technology, and innovation, and many other sectors, thereby forming a strategic relationship as India is increasingly becoming central to Israel’s foreign policy.
In 1998, Israel was one of the select few nations, that did not condemn India’s Pokhran nuclear tests. Later, it also shared intelligence during the Kargil conflict in 1999 and provided disaster relief during the 2001 Bhuj earthquake. These steps put Israel in a better position among the Indian decision-makers and citizens. Israel thus received a more prominent positioning in the redefining of India’s foreign policy orientation under the Vajpayee government. From 1999 to 2009, military business between the two nations had risen to around US$9 billion.Â
New Delhi had found in the Israeli defense industry, a useful source of weapons, one that could supply it with advanced military technology thereby diversifying the otherwise Russian-dependent Indian arms market. India is the largest buyer of Israeli defense equipment today and Israel is the second-largest supplier of military equipment to India after Russia. As of 2020, India was its largest recipient acquiring 43 percent of Israel’s total arms exports.
The rise of Islamist extremism and terrorism in both countries has generated a strong strategic alliance between the two with increased strategic cooperation in areas of counter-terrorism, de-radicalization, and intelligence sharing since the Manmohan Singh government. These favorable outcomes are also underwritten by tremendous strategic patience on the Israeli side. Weapons sales and agricultural aid were considered long-term equities that would, eventually, pay off, despite India’s lack of political reciprocity.Â
Even though the rhetoric of friendship, trust, and cooperation along with civilizational links usually covers the media narrative of Indo-Israel relations, the fact of the matter is, it is based purely on realism and a mature understanding of each other’s requirements and compulsions. Overall it is a win-win partnership between these two emerging regional powers, as India is the world’s biggest democracy and Israel is the largest democracy in the Middle East. The mutual perception among citizens of both countries is also highly favorable of each other, based on a blend of ideology, pragmatism, and geopolitical alignments. Some of the visible hallmarks of this are:
- As of 2014, India is Israel’s tenth-largest trade partner and import source, and seventh-largest export destination.
- Yoga and spiritual practices have a very huge following amongst the Israeli population.
-  Saudi Arabia has given an air travel concession to Indian and Israeli flights to fly over its airspace, which was earlier not allowed; probably the only one-of-it’s-kind relaxation not given to any other country.
- More than 40,000 Indian tourists visited Israel in 2018, while India has always been a favorite destination for Israelis, especially youngsters.Â
Apart from this, the new Middle Eastern Quad– a strategic group of the U.S., India, Israel, and the UAE – has opened avenues for both sides to enhance strategic interaction. With the signing of the 2020 Abrahamic Accords, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco normalized relations with Israel granting India more flexibility in West Asia.Â
This opportunity to lock in more substantial and institutionalized cooperation is celebrated, though the bilateral relationship is yet to grow to its full potential and this is the right time to put in place a framework for a people-centric course for bilateral engagements, one that can withstand any future domestic political swings or the ideological variations between political parties in both countries, and continues benefitting the populations on both sides.
References
https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/india-israel-deciphering-enigmatic-relations-46365/
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/the-india-israel-relationship-modi-bennett-7753938/
https://embassies.gov.il/delhi/AboutTheEmbassy/India-Israel-Relations/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-702909
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/india-israel
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-and-israel-relations
https://chanakyaforum.com/india-the-middle-east-and-the-new-quad/
https://idsa.in/issuebrief/india-israel-defence-trade-sscrajiv-040222
https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/india-israel-relations/
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/madrid-conference
https://travelmail.in/more-than-40000-indian-travellers-have-visited-israel-in-last-six-months/
https://ikashmir.net/rnkao/feats.html
https://eurasiantimes.com/arm-supplier-india-israel/
https://www.un.org/press/en/1998/sc6528.doc.htm
https://doi.org/10.2307/3632210
https://www.state.gov/the-abraham-accords/
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20150914-the-last-six-jews-of-cochin
https://www.jewishvoice.org/learn/who-are-lost-tribes-israel
https://embassies.gov.il/delhi/AboutTheEmbassy/India-Israel-Relations/Pages/default.aspx
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