MODI MUST TAKE INDO ISREAL RELATIONS TO NEW LEVEL

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/coffee-break/modi-must-take-india-israel-ties-to-a-new-high.html Sunday, 05 October 2014 | Kanchan Gupta The 10 years of UPA were a wasted decade as far as India-Israel relations are concerned. Narendra Modi’s meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in New York signals the start of a new era It is a measure of popular interest to which media panders in its relentless quest for ratings, thereby dumbing down the level of public discourse which, in turn, serves the purpose of shifting attention away from genuine concerns, that one of the most substantive meetings Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in New York barely found mention on the front pages of newspapers and during prime time chatter on news television. Media was more interested in the pomp and pageantry of Modi’s visit to America, and whether or not a journalist made an ass of himself on live television by getting involved, sleeves rolled, in what can only be compared to a street brawl. And so it is that the meeting between the Prime Ministers of India and Israel, the first in a decade, went virtually unnoticed. If the newsdesk chose to ignore it, the commentariat simply shut its eyes to the event: It would seem the consensus was that the absence of news and commentary would make it seem the meeting never took place. But it did — on September 29. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among the first to call Modi and congratulate him after May 16, was sufficiently enthused to declare that “the sky is the limit” when it comes to bilateral relations between India and Israel. That declaration is unlikely to have warmed the cockles of the hearts of our Left-liberal intellectuals who wave the flag for Hamas and camouflage their virulent anti-Semitism as highfalutin bunk about Palestinian rights. But it should become the cornerstone of relations between the world’s largest democracy and the only democracy east of the Suez Canal in West Asia. These relations are not merely diplomatic or trade-based; they are civilisational ties of an altogether different genre. Sadly, this point is missed by most of the political class that sees the blossoming of India-Israel relations as a threat to their vote-bank politics. What was myopic politics, slowly transmogrified into policy, ably assisted by External Affairs Ministry mandarins only too happy to keep their political masters in good humour. It is, therefore, not surprising that Modi should have discussed more than bilateral trade which now stands at six billion dollars; together he and Netanyahu forged the framework for future talks on specific issues. Before this, Prime Minister Atal Bihari and his Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh had sought to craft a purposeful relationship with Israel. It was during Vajpayee’s tenure that Ariel Sharon visited India, the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit this country. If the bonhomie witnessed at the New York meeting is any indication, Modi may become the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. As Chief Minister of Gujarat, he visited that country, impressing the establishment in Jerusalem with his ideas of extensive and expanded bilateral cooperation. Institutional memory in Israel runs deep and long, unlike in India. Unfortunately, the long hiatus in India-Israel relations which went into deep freeze during the Congress years between 2004 and 2014 has resulted in loss of time and dissipated initiative. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lacked the courage to stand up to his political masters; his Government cut a sorry spectacle when it refused to acknowledge the terrorist attack on Chabad House during the 26/11 terror strike on Mumbai in its statement before the UN Security Council. Defence Minister AK Antony called off his visit to Israel literally at the last minute when he was told about the Muslim League’s displeasure. Worse, India’s long-standing policy on Israel was perverted to reflect not what Indians want but what Islamists like Hamas demand. It is equally unfortunate that the NDA Government headed by Modi should have toed the flawed UPA line while voting against Israel at the UNHRC and in endorsing the BRICS declaration. Clearly, remnants of the UPA regime in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs manipulated events in a certain way. This is not to absolve the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister —they ought to have exercised greater caution — but to underscore the need to keep pernicious elements in the bureaucracy at bay. Modi ought to go with his gut instincts — that’s what made him meet Netanyahu in New York, a meeting that should have by now become a routine annual affair. There were two positive shifts before the New York meeting that signalled the end of a decade-long freeze in India-Israel relations. First, before leaving for his American tour, Modi summoned the Cabinet Committee on Security and cleared the purchase of Barak 1 missiles. A decision on this (as also on other critical acquisitions) had been pending for nearly six years. Second, in her statement at the Ministerial-level meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Committee on Palestine, Sushma Swaraj deftly did an admirable course correction by reverting to India’s pre-UPA position on Palestine. Needless to say, this did not go unnoticed in Jerusalem — or Tel Aviv, if you wish. With the clutter out of the way, Modi could openly speak his mind and Netanyahu could respond without any inhibition. There is a common perception that India-Israel relations are restricted in scope and application to defence hardware acquisition. This flows from the fact that over the years India has emerged as one of the biggest buyers of Israeli defence equipment. But nothing could be farther from the truth. While it is true that India could leap frog into state-of-the-art homeland security arrangement by sourcing hardware and technology from Israel, and give a cutting edge to its defence forces with Israeli armaments, there’s a lot more from which we could benefit tremendously. For instance, Israel has a proven track record in cyber security and we could seek its support in securing our cyber interests and assets. Three areas where India-Israel cooperation can work wonders for us, and which should be the focus of a robust relationship, are water management, agricultural technology and rapid house-building with pre-fabricated material. A severe water crisis stares us in the face unless we initiate urgent action. Israeli technology can not only help us manage our water resources better, but also recycle waste water for agricultural, industrial and even domestic use. To meet food and land challenges of the future, we have to start working on making our deserts blossom. Israel knows how to do that. And, if we are serious about housing for all by the 150th birth anniversary of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, we have to explore means of rapid construction. Once again, Israel can show us how to do that