At the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, the Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi the “Most popular person in Israel”, who “Revived the relationship between Israel and India, which is a unique relationship between two civilizations. It is not a question of interests. This is a deep conviction that you hold, and we feel it.

Next year Israel and India will celebrate 30 years of full diplomatic relations. Under the Netanyahu government, the friendship between Israel and India reached its peak due to the close personal friendship between Modi and Bibi, a trend Prime Minister Bennett hopes to continue. The question remains, why is Modi so popular in the Jewish state?

Shipan Kumer Basu, who heads the World Hindu Struggle Committee, said: “In 2017, Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. Since that day, the two countries have only looked forward, not back. Over the past seven years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signed numerous bilateral agreements with Israel, which have benefited the peoples of both countries.

Basu noted that Israel and India are “To work together in the fields of the fight against terrorism, defense, agriculture, water and energy. India has been Israel’s third largest trading partner in Asia since 2014. Excluding defense trade, trade between the two countries amounts to $ 4.52 billion. In 2016, India and Israel signed a massive military deal worth $ 600 billion. More recently, Israel and India agreed to jointly develop drones, artificial intelligence and more as part of the Bilateral innovation agreement.

“As part of the deal, startups and industry from both countries will work together to develop next-generation technologies and products in areas such as drones, robotics, artificial intelligence, tech quantum, photonics, biosensors, brain-machine interface, energy storage, portable devices, natural language processing, etc. The Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. This came after Israel and India signed a 10-year defense cooperation agreement.

It shouldn’t be surprising that all of this cooperation has influenced what average Indians think. “Not only the policymakers but the Indian people have more sympathy for Israel than for any other country,” Basu pointed out, noting that anti-Semitism has never been part of Indian culture. “According to an international poll conducted in 2011, 56% of Americans are sympathetic to the State of Israel. In India, 59% support the State of Israel.

This represents a radical change, as India in the past was part of the non-aligned movement and therefore was more sympathetic to what the Third World had to say about Israel. Historically, Mahatma Gandhi and his successors were very sympathetic to the Palestinian cause for this reason, yet Modi changed this common sentiment within his country and made India a more pro-Israel country. Due to lingering tensions between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region and its history of fighting radical Islamism, Modi believes India has more in common with Israel than with the Palestinians.

“There were no Muslims in India before the Mughal invasion”, Basu noted. “When the Mughals arrived in India, they destroyed Hindu temples, Gurukulas and universities, built mosques and minarets in their stead and started an illegal occupation. During the 500 years of Mughal rule, they have caused irreparable damage to Hindus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working to make up for this loss.

Basu added, “Narendra Modi took a decisive step in establishing a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram Chandra. Narendra Modi took action to save Lord Krishna ‘Madhura Nagari’ birthplace from Muslim occupation. Narendra Modi took steps to save part of the Kashi Bishwanath temple in Varanasi from Muslim occupation. Narendra Modi has managed to win the hearts of Hindus by taking these bold steps. “

According to Basu, “Modi also lifted Kashmir’s 307 article, which was praised by many Indians.” Many media experts in the Islamic world have compared this action to the Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria, but many Indian Hindus nonetheless support the lifting of Article 307 because, like the Zionist movement, they believe that it is their historic right to do so, as they view Kashmir as an integral part of India, just as many Zionists view Judea and Samaria as part of the State of Israel.

While radical Islamists have systematically attacked Hindus and carried out numerous terrorist attacks in India, including a deadly attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001 which killed 9 people and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008 which killed 175, the Jewish people have always been great friends of Hindus. nation. According to Basu, “Israel announced in May that it would stand alongside friendly India, sending emergency medical assistance, including oxygen generators, ventilators, medicines and additional medical supplies, as the pandemic of COVID-19 was at its peak in the country. This takes relations between the two countries to a higher level.

Moreover, the Indian people fully shared these feelings. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the envoy from New Delhi to the United States, said: “India is one of the few countries that has not experienced anti-Semitism, neither historically nor in modern times. This is because Indian society is known for its openness and compassion, embodying the core principle of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam, which means the world is one family. Jews prospered and their traditions and practices flourished in India. “ For these reasons, Modi remains the most popular world leader of the Jewish state in the eyes of many.