Dear Friends in Israel,
I
wouldn’t write to you today, if I didn’t feel compelled to do so. But
first, I have a confession to make; I didn’t always stand up for you –
when at times I should have. Growing up in India in the 90s, like most
in my generation I did share sympathies for you, but never gave it much
of a thought.
Things changed during my college years and
subsequent years of employment in International organizations. I
conveniently went along with the dominant narrative of the ‘Arab–Israeli
conflict’.
It was in the winter of 2012 that I was – for
the first time – forced to reconsider my position after witnessing an
anti-Semitic tirade (in Germany of all the places) that began
‘harmlessly’ with a condemnation of Israel’s ‘disproportionate use of
force’. The incident made me realize that the nature of the debate
on Israel has very little to do with the ground realty in the Middle
East. On other occasions my polite attempts to bring facts to the
discussions made things only worse. Since then I have witnessed more
blatant anti-Semitism in elite circles in Europe than I have seen in
immigrant suburbs of Paris or Berlin.
After seeing the futility of debates, I opted
to just write about it occasionally. I do get my share of ‘hate mails’
and I take them as part of the deal. Like most people expressing their
solidarity with Israel on the web, I too have been flooded with graphic
images and verbal abuse in recent days. I have been repeatedly asked the
same question: Why does an Indian support Israel (I am leaving out the
customary expletives)?
I have chosen not to respond to these messages. Instead I have decided to share my reasons with you.
Firstly, as an Indian I feel deep gratitude based on History. You came to our aid militarily many times; like in the 14-day India-Pakistan war in 1971 and
then again in the Kargil War of 1999. Your help came despite India’s
consistent ‘unfavorable’ stand in UN and other international fora. On
the other hand it took India 44 years to recognize Israel.
However, since 1992 our bilateral relations
have flourished. Today Israel is India’s biggest partner in defense
trade after Russia. India-Israel overall bilateral trade has grown from
the base figure of $200 million to over $6 billion.
But that’s not the whole story. Israeli agriculture technology is helping farmers in rural India
to improve their harvest and dairy output. Israeli water and irrigation
technology is enabling farmers to get better yields with limited water
resources and providing Indian cities with clean drinking water. Israel
is partnering with India in an ambitious plan to clean major rivers that
serve as life-line to Indian metropolitans. Recently Israel has even initiated a program to enable Indian women entrepreneurs to acquire right skill-sets and exposure to break new grounds in Corporate India.
My real admiration – like that of many other Indians – is not merely based on what you do, but based on who you are.
Your scientific temper, your zeal for
learning, and your quest for innovation are some of the values that
Indians in my generation would like to emulate.
After surviving the most vicious genocide in
human history, you opted to create a nation based on democratic values,
freedom, equality for people of all faiths and ethnicities. Today, over a
million Arabs enjoy equal citizenship rights in Israel and religious
freedom never seen before in Middle East. Arab Israelis are active in
all fields of society and hold high places in academics, civil &
military administration, politics, and cultural life of Israel.
Though you are not infallible, you are open to
self-criticism as a society – a rare commodity in the region. Despite
being a tiny country in size, you have successfully absorbed waves of
immigration and continue to evolve as a society.
You received Jews of Indian origin with open
arms. Today they form an 80,000 strong community. They have excelled in
all walks of life, served gallantly in times of war, and brought glory
to your country in sports. Those who try to raise the charge of
Apartheid against you, knowingly ignore the plight of tens of thousands
of Indian workers in Arab Gulf States working in sub-human conditions.
Since you proclaimed statehood, you have
pleaded for peace, but have been prepared to defend yourself. This
perhaps is also your biggest ‘crime’. In the eyes of your detractors,
you have stopped playing the part that was scripted for you. Those in
your neighborhood who are trying to ‘wipe you off the map’ or ‘push you
in to the sea’ are not in much different from those Intellectual elite who want you to lower your defenses or ‘give up your (Jewish) character’ – and disappear.
No society before you has acted so humanly in
the face of war, terror and constant aggression – not judging only by
the way you treat your own, but by way you treat those who are hell bent
on destroying you. You set up field hospitals to treat wounded Syrians;
you send your technicians in harm’s way to restore power lines to Gaza;
you go out of the way alerting civilians of imminent strikes – even
when it means letting the miscreants to flee as well.
Like many of you Israelis, I too firmly
believe that the day will come when the hostility against Israel would
cease. Arab nations would one day come to realize that they have been
the biggest sufferers in their campaign of hatred against Israel, and
would instead focus on building their societies and tackling
real issues.
Until that day – like millions of Indians today – I will stand with you.
A Letter to the Jewish Nation: Why an Indian stands with Israel
http://t.co/4lwKerT2gV
via @TimesofIsrael
— Vijeta Uniyal (@iUniyal) July 19, 2014
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