Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: India-Israel friendship
Originaly Posted On: 2007-04-17 08:58:18

In the news recently was that Hindi is being taught at Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University in Israel. Haifa University recently announced its plans to start a course in Hindi as well.

To the delight of Indian food enthusiasts Reena Pushkarna(owner of Tandoori ) has a chain of seven Indian restaurants, two in Jerusalem, two in Herzliah Pituach, one each in Eliat, Ramat Hachyal and Tel Aviv. Tandoori is a favourite not only among Indians but Israelis as well, particularly those who have visited India. Dignitaries and bureaucrats are regular visitors to Tandoori. Her food is also served at various official functions.
Her enterprise took an amazing twist when Reena started Israel’s only Kosher Indian restaurant in Jerusalem and Tiberias(Kohinoor).

Indian cuisine often relies on blending yoghurt with chicken which is a religious taboo for non-vegetarian Jews. Dietary laws of Judaism prescribe separation of milk and meat products. Both are never mixed or even cooked together simultaneously in the kitchen. Reena, therefore developed a substitute for milk/yogurt in parev milk (made of soybean powder). Even cheese is replaced by parev milk retaining the original flavour. It is difficult even for an Indian to make out the difference in taste.Taste of desserts like ice cream and kulfi made of parev milk is similar to the one made from cow milk. Fried cheese, one of the main constituents in gulab jamuns is also prepared out of parev milk. Israelis love gulab jamuns which they call cheese balls in honey syrup. Parev alternative created wonders and Indian food became much more popular among Israelis. Tandoori chain of Pushkaranas also served Kosher Indian meal for two years to first and business class passengers of EL AL the Israeli national airline.Reena has picked up cooks from places like Hyatt Regency in Delhi and Taj in Bombay. There are about 100 Indians and 150 Israelis on the staff. Visiting Tandoori is an experience in itself. Visitors are welcomed by young Israeli women waitresses/female attendants wearing ethnic Indian suits with long dupattas and bindis on there foreheads. Sporting a big smile on her face, like a good host, glamorous Reena goes to each table to entertain the guests educating them about Indian food and curries, how they are being prepared and how spices are marinated

India’s Ambassador Arun K. Singh to Israel spoke at an International Forum, Tel Aviv University awhile ago and here is an extract:

`One of the first things that strikes a visitor to Israel or for that matter to India is the sense of history and time. The land of Israel is of great antiquity and the source of rich spiritual values for a significant part of humanity. India and Israel are both heirs to great and ancient civilizations characterized by deep wisdom, humanism and philosophical traditions.

The India-Israel relationship is multifaceted and multidimensional. While our two nations are distinguished by different religions and cultures, yet in many ways they have much in common. Both countries emerged from foreign dominations as independent nations around the middle of the last century and embarked on a journey of building modern democratic societies based on representative democracy and freedom. Above all, India and Israel have an abiding commitment to democracy, and peace.

The ties between our two peoples go as far back as the times of the First Temple, when the first Jewish communities settled in India and developed and flourished over the ages. India is one of the few ancient and contemporary countries mentioned in the Bible (along with Persia, China, Egypt and Greece).

There is a spiritual kinship between these civilizations, as well as a historical interaction which is vividly embodied in the presence of Judaism and its adherents in India for over 1600 years. For thousands of Israelis, India has a legendary and mystical image.

The Indian Jewish community has flourished for centuries in peace and harmony, free to follow their way of life without encountering the slightest trace of anti-Semitic feeling. This is in keeping with the long-established and spontaneous tradition of mutual respect and assimilation, which is an integral and vital element of Indian culture and society. Almost all the major religions of the world including Judaism have enriched this great heritage of India. The Indian Jewish community has contributed handsomely to the building of modern India have contributed to enriching Indian culture and ethos. The migration of many members of the community to Israel in recent decades has served to build a strong cultural and emotional bridge between our two countries. Our affinities have been reflected in the esteem in which the Indian intellectual world has held the Judaic and Hebraic heritage. This has been reciprocated in the attention paid to Indian culture and civilization, and to Indology – ancient and modern, by Jewish scholars in the West and in Israel.

In an interview with the journal Jewish Standard in 1930, the great Indian poet and Nobel Prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore recognized the historical logic of Jewish nationalism. He said that:”I regard Jewish nationalism as an effort to preserve and enrich Jewish culture and tradition. In today’s world this programme requires a national home. It also implies appropriate physical surroundings as well as favourable political and economic conditions”.
India and Israel were blessed with visionary leadership in the critical years after independence – leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Ben Gurion who built the foundations and institutions of modern, strong and democratic societies. On September 17, 1950, Government of India announced recognition of Israel. Early contacts included correspondence between President Rajendra Prasad and his Israeli counterpart, Chaim Weizman. David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, held Gandhiji in high esteem and saw him as an inspiration in the fight for freedom. I recall his words, following Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom, that “the example of Mahatma Gandhi’s life and teaching will always shine like a beacon to guide men of goodwill everywhere along the path of goodness and human worth”. President K. R. Narayanan, in a communication to President Katsav in April 2002 stated that “the development of India and Israel as vibrant democracies and centres of excellence in science and technology have created a natural partnership for bilateral cooperation and friendship”. One of our former External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, during his visit to Israel in June 2000 described the relations between India and Israel as “intuitive”.

A large number of ministerial and official visits have taken place, including the visits to India by President Ezer Weizman in January 1997, and PM Sharon in September 2003. These visits have led to several basic inter-governmental agreements for functional cooperation.
India and Israel have been actively involved the global campaign against terrorism and are committed to coordination with each other and other democracies against this menace. A bilateral Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, established in 2002, has met regularly enabling the two sides to share experience, information and training techniques to deal with this global threat in a more effective manner.

A very important dimension in the relationship is at the level of people. The high priority that the two governments attach to the further strengthening of this relationship is matched by the deep affection and mutual respect, the two peoples have for each other. The Indian origin community in Israel constitutes an abiding bridge between our two countries even as they enrich the multicultural fabric of Israeli society. Israelis visit India in large numbers and for extended stays. Over 40,000 Israeli tourists visited India last year. Such visits create awareness, empathy and closeness at the people-to-people level while generating a mutual interest in each other’s cultures, history and traditions.

The nearly 70,000 strong Indian origin Jewish community in Israel provides a very important foundation for the relationship.

The Indian Jewish community in Israel is playing an important role in the development of this country. They are considered to be hard-working, skillful, reliable and a responsible community that has contributed not only in agriculture but also as an effective workforce in many of Israel’s industries. A number of members of the community are active in social and political fields.

Indian art, song, dance and therapy are becoming increasingly popular in Israel. A number of yoga classes and ayurvedic clinics have come up. Some municipalities have sponsored the classes in classical Indian dances and musical instruments.

Indian food is also becoming increasing popular in Israel and one can see a number of Indian restaurants in various parts of Israel.

About 40 scholars from all over the world took part in a unique month-long Sanskrit summer convention organized by the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in July 2005 .

The World Hindi Day was celebrated in Israel on January 10, 2006 by the Embassy in association with the South East Asian Department of Tel Aviv University. The celebration drew about 300 India enthusiasts with students at the Tel Aviv University participating in a range of activities in Hindi.

Israeli movie producers have shown an interest in filming movies in Indian locales. Recently, an Indian musical and dance spectacle – “Bharati” – staged in Israel at several venues, was very well received here. In view of the increasing interest the world over, including in Israel, in Indian films, the Embassy organized an Indian film festival in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa in January 2006 and was highly successful and attracted huge audience.

The trade relations have grown significantly from less than $ 200 million in 1992 to $ 2.5 billion in 2005. While in the early part of the trade relations, the accent was on diamonds, followed by cooperation in agriculture, today, there is flourishing trade in hi-tech, software, telecommunications, biotechnology, medical equipment, machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, among others. India is now Israel’s ninth largest global trading partner and second largest in Asia. Both sides have agreed to increase their bilateral trade to US $ 5 billion by 2007 and set up a Joint Study Group to examine an Economic Cooperation Agreement between the two countries. Its Report released during the visit of Mr. Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India provides a firm foundation to boost trade and economic tie and contains an Indo-Israeli Action Plan for Comprehensive Economic Cooperation This Joint Study Group Report spans a vast area covering not only the entire gamut of bilateral trade in goods and services but also the growing cooperation in science and technology, research and development

India and Israel are, each in their own way and in keeping with their cultures, responding to opportunities and challenges of recent times. Let me conclude by saying that the current millennium carries the hope of a new era of global peace and cooperation and India-Israel friendship can contribute to realizing this vision”

Blog, Israel