India’s strategic and security experts, if they were to look at the scene with their eyes wide open, would realise that in terms of sheer scale, the India-Israel asymmetry is glaring
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu could be seen in near-rapture over Modi’s two-day visit to Israel. More than the Modi-Trump bromance during US President Donald Trump’s first term in office, the Modi-Netanyahu connect was a prime example of irrational exuberance.
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There are political reasons for Modi and Netanyahu to feel a strong sense of solidarity in each other’s company. Modi belongs to the Hindu right-wing political tradition represented by the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS), the BJP’s earlier incarnation, which supported Israel under the mistaken belief that it was fighting Muslims in Palestine and keeping Muslim-majority countries in the region at bay. Modi’s unrestrained admiration for Israel reflects the ideological legacy he has inherited from his party’s stance.
Rethinking India-Israel ties
The Palestinian issue has nothing to do with Muslims. It is primarily an issue of the innate political rights of Palestinians, who are Arabs, and a majority of them are Muslims. The other Palestinians are Christians and Jews. Unfortunately, successive Congress governments made support for the Palestinians a way of pleasing Muslims in India and around the world. Leaders like Nehru, at heart, remained admirers of the Jews. It was Gandhi who understood the Palestinian issue most accurately in 1938 when he stated that the Jews should not enter Palestine with Western support. The BJP/BJS’s strain of anti-Muslim sentiment was the main motive for its admiration for and support of Israel and the Jews.
Despite his irrational exuberance for Israel, Modi played the strategic card when he mentioned the Abraham Accords in his Knesset speech, which refers to the opening of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco, and he expressed support for the Gaza peace plan. For Netanyahu, Modi’s visit was a means, an ineffective one, to defend his besieged position in Israel’s domestic politics. Netanyahu leads a fragile coalition of centrist and right-wing political parties. There is huge opposition to Netanyahu for Israel’s failure to prevent the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, and his war-at-all-costs Gaza stance. Netanyahu is a hugely unpopular leader in Israel today.
Balancing awe and strategy
The other side of the India-Israel story is that of the mistaken liberal view that India’s closeness to Israel would alienate the Palestinians and the Arab Muslim states. The Palestinians are not opposed to India’s friendship with Israel. They think it will be helpful to Palestine because India can serve as a mediator between them and Israel. Arab states like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are looking to India as a major economic partner, and India’s closeness to Israel does not come in the way. It is interesting to note that India-UAE trade turnover in 2025 was roughly $100 billion while that between India and Israel is just over $3 billion.
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The general Indian sense of awe for Israel, especially of the large section of the right-wing Hindu middle class, is quite irrational. The only great achievement of Israel is that it remains a vibrant democracy, not so much in contrast to its Arab neighbours but due its own values. At the height of the war in Gaza. Netanyahu faced fiercest opposition, both on the personal and political fronts. There was a plea from his political supporters that the corruption charges that he and his wife are facing should be dropped because of the security crisis that Israel is facing. But it did not pass muster. Neither the Israeli courts nor a large section of the people are unwilling to be silenced on the pretext of national security emergency. This is unthinkable in India under the Modi government.
Beyond blind Israeli admiration
The critical importance accorded to Israel by the right-wing Hinduva establishment in India is unjustified. What Israel has to offer India in terms of weapons and counter-terrorism measures is insignificant. India’s strategic and security experts, if they were to look at the scene with their eyes wide open, would realise that in terms of sheer scale, the India-Israel asymmetry is glaring. Israel appears to be a successful state in terms of defence-related technology because it is surrounded by neighbours who are ill-equipped on many counts. Its spyware cannot be of much use for India’s security needs and challenges.
India should maintain its relations with Israel on an even keel. There is no need to go overboard with blind admiration. India need not be dazzled by Israeli achievements, especially on the security front. A sober Indian assessment of Israel will enable India to play an influential role in West Asia. India should be in a position to pressurise Israel to ease its stance towards Palestine, and it can persuade Palestinians to talk to Israel with greater openness. Palestinians trust India and so will Israel once it realises that India is a critical player. Today, India is in awe of Israel, but Israel is not too impressed with India. Israel does not consider India to have any meaningful role in the region. Israel depends on unqualified American support for its security needs, and it does not care for Europe or any other player, including India and China.
Reassessing India’s Israel policy
The BJP and the Hindu right-wingers in India have to shed their enchantment for Israel. Modi is already doing this, especially with the Gulf countries. New Delhi’s relations with Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman reflect the realistic Indian perception of the region. The Muslim factor has no role in forging the close ties with the Gulf states. It is based on economic realities. Compared to its economic ties with the Gulf countries, India’s trade and economic engagement with Israel is small and relatively insignificant.
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The major flaw in the Modi government policy is its perception that help from Israel is necessary to fight jihadi terrorism. What is overlooked is that Israel does not face jihadi terrorism even to the extent that India faces it. The threat that Israel faces from Hezbollah or Hamas is marginal. It is a mistake to think that jihadi groups fear Israel because of its technological superiority. The jihadi groups, and they are midgets on the global scale, are wary of the American reach, and they know that it is America that is Israel’s shield.
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