Indians and Jews are Natural Allies - Opinion

The Jewish and Indian Diasporas in the US are natural partners. They are religious minorities in a Christian country.

They are among the best-educated and highest-earning minority groups in the United States, and they both face prejudice and informal discrimination. The polarization of American politics gives greater weight to extremists on both sides of the aisle, many of whom are xenophobic and antisemitic. Their perceived upper-middle class status leaves them vulnerable to the “woke culture” that is developing in the US. Both communities are suffering from an increasingly acerbic American political discourse.

Like American Jews, Indian Americans have become active participants in politics as donors, voters, or candidates.

Their high levels of education, English language proficiency, and roots in India, a country with its own long democratic tradition, all help their political participation. As Indian Americans recognized the success of American Jewish organizations in the political and other spheres of life, they began to look to these organizations as models and partners. Jewish organizations were happy to respond to approaches from the Indian community. American Jewish lobbying organizations have supported and contributed to the formation and success of Indian lobbies. In the last two decades, political links have been cultivated between Jewish and Indian leadership in the US, as well as with Israel.

The relations between the two communities are excellent, and they are working together on a number of domestic and foreign affairs issues, such as hate crimes, immigration, anti-terrorism legislation, and the backing of pro-Israel and pro-India candidates. For example, Jews and Indians worked closely to gain the Bush Administration’s approval for Israel to sell 4 “Phalcon” early warning radar planes to India. Some Jewish groups also advocate awarding India a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. Lobbyists on both sides cooperated in an effort to allow India access to American nuclear technology, despite its refusal to accept the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The minority status of the two groups enables other social and cultural alignments. The projected increase in the Muslim population in the US presents a challenge to both Jewish and Indian Americans. While not all Muslims are radicalized, many harbor ill feelings toward Jews and Hindus. As religious minorities, it is imperative that American Jews and Hindus come together to promote religious freedom while collectively fighting antisemitism and radicalized groups espousing hate-filled ideologies. As Jews, we need to work with other ethnic and social groups to combat Jew-hatred, as we can’t tackle and beat it on our own.

Just as the ties have strengthened between the two minority groups in the US, it is also crucial that India continue to expand relations with Israel, both of which represent very early world civilizations. Moreover, the two share a British colonial past. Each was born as a result of messy partitions, and both have maintained a democratic regime under adverse conditions ever since.

Both face hostile environments and have had to fight multiple wars. Both face nuclear threats and refuse to sign the Non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty. Both have Muslim minorities that could become a fifth column. Despite these many similarities between the two states, it took over four decades to establish a warm relationship characterized by full diplomatic relations, flourishing bilateral trade, and a burgeoning strategic content.  

Since the end of the Cold War, Israel has become an important source of weapon systems and military technology for many parts of the world. Initially, Israel’s military industries provided upgrades to the Soviet weapons in the Indian arsenal. Subsequently, these industries were valuable to the modernization efforts of the Indian military. Finally, Israel has collaborated with India on counter-terrorism efforts, as both have experienced similar problems with terror attacks.

Israel has become a serious partner to the Indian defense establishment. Indeed, Prime Minister Modi termed the relationship between the two states as a “strategic partnership.” The rise of China and its growing aggressive behavior is a problem for India, Israel and the US. In the new developing strategic environment, this is an additional arena for cooperation.

Israel is also well suited to help India in several areas where it is deficient, such as water management, agriculture and communications. Israel’s activities in these fields in India are very appreciated in Delhi. While relations with Israel were positively viewed by the Indian leadership, only more recently has Indian public opinion become more friendly toward Israel. One reason was the Netflix broadcast in India of the popular Israeli TV series, “Fauda,” which helped convey, like never before, the Israeli experience of fighting terror.

While the India-Israel relationship has established roots, there remains great potential that is not always recognized.

Prof. Efraim Inbar is president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) and a pioneer in developing Israel-India ties. 

This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Michael Mostyn.