Breaking bread, sharing salt
Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ slogan has not only reinforced already robust defence ties between India and Israel, it brought Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon, one of the seniormost members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to visit Bengaluru, India's key defence hub, with the naval chief following shortly thereafter.
This was underscored by Daniel Carmon, Ambassador of Israel to India, who said at the inauguration of a vastly upgraded new Israeli Consulate here in Bengaluru on Thursday: “India and Israel have very strong defence relations. The visit to Bengaluru of our defence minister and navy chief is evidence of that. It is a very important industry for us and we have several military and DRDO partnerships as well as collaborations with the Home Ministry and Homeland Security.”
At the high-security event were Home Minister K.J. George and Minister for Infrastructure Roshan Baig who participated in a seamless coming together of Indian custom and Israeli tradition, when the dignitaries lit the lamp and then broke bread and shared salt and wine.
The Ambassador staunchly quashed the implication that Indo-Israel ties were stilted by India’s friendship with Iran. "There’s no connection between the two," he maintained. “External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has spoken about India’s commitment to the Palestinian cause. It only bothered Israel when we were asked not to talk about our relationship with India. But those times are gone.”
Calling for greater connectivity and direct flights between Tel Aviv and Bengaluru, the gateway to the south he later told this newspaper, “We also want our people to know each other better. One thing we would like is more flights between India and Israel! Airline companies say that this doesn’t work for them commercially, but the potential is huge, even in terms of tourism. If they give us the planes, we will fill them!”
“More than anything, this will be a home for every Israeli and every friend of Israel," the senior diplomat said.
