India, Israel share ties of centuries: Jaishankar

Jaishankar said there is an urgent need to tap the Indian Jewish community and Indologists to better document the heritage and history of the community and societal cross flows

The Indian diaspora in Israel has served as an umbilical cord that has nourished relations between the two nations, and there is a need to better document the heritage and history of the community, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said.

Jaishankar said that those who chose a new life in Israel were a “basis for creating a new bond between” the two sides. (AFP Photo)

Jaishankar made the remarks while interacting with members of the Indian Jewish community and Indologists in Jerusalem on Sunday. He is on his first visit to Israel after becoming foreign minister, and is holding talks with officials to boost bilateral relations.

He said he was happy to be in Israel, a “land with which we have ties of centuries”, and amid the Indian Jewish community that has “in many ways been an umbilical cord” that has nourished these relations.

Some Indian Jews were “uprooted in more difficult times and moved against their will”, while others made “more prescient choices” to move out of the country, he noted.

“But among all of them, I would say that the Indian Jewish community is in many ways very unique because one, like other communities, it is a community that has existed peacefully in India for hundreds of years, which maintained its Jewish identity despite a long period of isolation from other Jewish communities,” he said.

Those who chose a new life in Israel are a “basis for creating a new bond between” the two countries and the community has carried some flavours of India that have been retained or assimilated. There is the influence of the mangalsutra and mehendi among Bene Israelis, and the adorning of Torah arks with jasmine garlands and use of manara by Cochini Jews, Jaishankar said.

“It is, therefore, not surprising that people like you say, ‘Israel is my fatherland and India is my motherland’,” he said.

India’s connections with Jerusalem go back 800 years and the Sufi saint, Baba Farid, meditated in a cave in Jerusalem. This place later became a pilgrim lodge for travellers from India that is known as the Indian Hospice and symbolises India’s presence in the old city, Jaishankar said.

Hundreds of Indian soldiers also fought and died in the region during World War I.

Jaishankar said there is an urgent need to tap the Indian Jewish community and Indologists to better document the heritage and history of the community and societal cross flows.

“How do we preserve the memory and experiences of the community elders? How do we listen to the younger generation of the community, understand their aspirations and make them a part of this living bridge? How do we enhance the reach of the work being done by the Indologists both within the community and outside? We will be happy to hear from you and would support your endeavours in this direction,” he said.

Jaishankar also tweeted about a “productive meeting” with Israeli chambers of commerce and innovators. “Appreciate their visible enthusiasm for doing more partnerships with India. Many post-Covid priorities including digital, health, agriculture & green growth are natural areas for our collaboration,” he said.

He said he had encouraged Israeli businesses to focus on Indian opportunities and take advantage of the country’s business-friendly policies.