Indo - Israel Relationship : A Changing Reality

Indo - Israel relationship had been a paradox in the past. India and Israel shares lot of similarities like both were former colonies of Britain, both suffer from colonial legacy of disputed borders, both the nations are islands of democracy in the middle of generally undemocratic regions, both the countries are surrounded by traditionally hostile states and are constant victims of state sponsored terrorism. Despite these similarities, New Delhi maintained an unsympathetic posture towards Israel from its earliest days. In 1947, India voted against the partition of Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly. India was the first Non - Arab State to recognize PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) as sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1974. India was one of the first countries to recognize the State of Palestine in 1988. India's lens on Israel had been very clearly colored with ideological prism. Several other factors that compelled New Delhi to pursue an exclusively pro - Arab and thus pro - Palestinian foreign policy are

• In the era of cold war politics, India was a founding member of NAM, which coincided with Israel's invasion of Sinai(Egypt which was also a founding member of NAM) in 1956 and other wars in the following years 
• Fear of alienating its large Muslim population
• A desire to counter Pakistan’s influence in the Muslim world
• A need to garner Arab support for its position over the Kashmir issue
• India could not take the risk of loosing oil supply from the middle east Arab nations 

A host of developments in the early 1990's, notably the disintegration of USSR and the end of cold war , the relevance of NAM was started to be questioned more than ever before as India have liberalized its economy which requires India to move from Non Aligned to Multi Aligned approach. Additionally, the 1991 Madrid Peace Process and the consequent Oslo Agreement prompted India to conclude that if the Arab world and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) were now willing to negotiate with Israel, New Delhi had no reason to maintain the status quo. India also realized by this time that its longstanding and unqualified support for the Palestinians had reaped few. Such changes in the International politics forced New Delhi to re-calibrate its approach towards the region to reflect new international realities.

From the early 1990's, there has been a gradual shift in India's foreign policy calculation towards middle east. Abandoning ideology for pragmatism India started to improve its relation with Israel. Ideological constrains were sidelined and firmly placed its foreign policy in the realm of national interest. Embassies were opened in 1992 after full diplomatic relations were established. Ties between the two countries have flourished since then. Defence and Agriculture have been the main pillars of bilateral engagement. Another reason for this seemingly shift is India's intention of closer ties with USA and the belief that road to Washington is through Tel Aviv.

In recent years, bilateral ties have expanded and is embarking on a multidimensional “strategic partnership”

Defence component :

Defence sector has been guiding light in the development of relations. The earliest India-Israel defence collaboration took place during the 1962 Sino - Indian war when Israel provided military aid to India. Israel also helped India during its two wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. India reciprocated by helping Israel during the six-day war in 1967 by supplying spare parts for French-made Mystere and Ouragan aircraft as well as AX-13 tanks. Israel supported India in Kargil war by supplying Laser guided missile which was a crucial support.

India is worlds biggest importer of defence equipment's and off late Israel has emerged as one of India’s most important sources of sophisticated military equipment and weapons systems. This fiscal year ( 2017) Israel will be India's number one arms supplier. Almost 40% of Israels arms production comes to India.

From Buyer-Seller relationship, today India and Israel are moving towards Joint production of defense equipment, like

The medium range surface-to-air missile missile (MR-SAM) 

• The MR-SAM has been developed jointly by Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), a laboratory of the DRDO in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). 
• The missile consists of Multi-Functional Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar (MF-STAR) system for detection, tracking and guidance. The MR-SAM has strike ranges from 50 to 70 km. 
• Once inducted into Indian Armed forces, it will provide the users capability to neutralise any aerial threats. 

Long range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) Barak-8 

• Barak-8 (Lightning 8 in Hebrew) is long-range Surface to Air missile, designed and developed jointly by DRDO, Israel Aerospace Industries and Israel‘s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure. 
• It is 4.5-meter long and can carry a payload of 70 kilograms. 
• It has a speed of Mach 2. It has the capacity to identify and neutralize various forms of aerial threats such as rockets, UAVs, planes, helicopters in a single flight. 
• Barak-8 missile‘s most technologically advanced aspect is its ability to intercept missiles aimed at sea-bound vessels. 

such Joint production of defense equipment dovetails well into India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and attaining strategic independence in defense equipment.

When it comes to Homeland Security, Israel has one of the best intelligence system in the world. Sharing of such information would lead to much safe and secure India. Thus it will help in counter terrorism in India. Israel’s knowledge and technology related to ports can be helpful to India

Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) 

• Designed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
• Consists of advance sensors, coastal surveillance radars and sound navigation and ranging systems (SONAR).
• Capable of detecting, tracking, identifying and generating warning for all types of underwater and surface threats to harbour security.
• The integrated system can detect presence of divers and under water threats with the help of this automatic system.
• Indias first Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System (IUHDSS) was commissioned in Kochi, Kerala.

Economic Component :

The bilateral trade has increased from $200 million in 1992 (comprising primarily trade in diamonds) has reached $5.19 billion in 2011. Since then it has stagnated around $4.5 billion.The diamonds constitutes close to 50% of bilateral trade between both countries. In recent times trade has diversified into several sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, IT and telecom and homeland security. Major exports from India to Israel include precious stones and metals, textiles and textile articles, chemical products, plants and vegetable products, and mineral products. Major imports by India from Israel include precious stones and metals, chemicals (mainly potash) and mineral products, base metals and machinery and transport equipment

Since 2010 the two sides are negotiating an FTA covering trade in goods and service 

TCS started operation in Israel in 2005 and State Bank of India (SBI) opened a branch in Tel Aviv in 2007 

Other areas of co operation are :

Agriculture and Water Management

One of the first few person to be sent to Israel by then Indian P M Narashima Rao was M S Swaminathan. India being an extremely water stressed nation can derive great benefit from Israel's pioneering use of noval irrigation and water desalination techniques. Israel recycles 86% of its waste water, half of farm water comes from recycled water. There is enormous potential for Israeli investment in fields such as renewable energy and water management especially drip irrigation and desalination

Space Co-operation

In 2008 , ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) placed an Israeli reconnaissance satellite (TecSAR) into orbit 

What is missing in India - Israel relationship?

People to people contact ( Tire 3 diplomacy ) is week, Business relationship excluding defence is very small ( only $5 billion ). There are approximately 80,000 Jews of Indian origin in Israel, most of whom are now Israeli passport holders. No two countries can maintain good relationship purely on an Inter Governmental level alone, it has to be backed by people to people relationship and cultural diplomacy.

All the while India have not abandoned Palestine, India continues to maintain close ties with Palestine. What India have done successfully is to de-hyphenate India's relation with Israel and Palestine, a process that began in 1992. All this only means that India - Israel relationship should not be see through the lens of Palatine. India continue to give  principled support for Palestine cause, In 1996 India opened Representative Office in Gaza. In 1999 India Co-Sponsored draft resolution on right of Palestinians to self determination. In 2003 India voted against building of separation wall by Israel. In 2011 India voted to admit Palestine as full member of UNESCO. In 2012 India voted to grant Palestine non- member observer status at UN. India have also condemned the disproportionate use of force in Gaza earlier in 2014. However India abstained from voting against Israel in a resolution related to strikes in Gaza over a period of two months in 2014. With the Government of India’s aid, two projects were completed in the field of higher education i.e. Jawaharlal Nehru Library at the Al Azhar University in Gaza city and the Mahatma Gandhi Library cum Student Activity Centre at the Palestine Technical College at Deir Al Balah in the Gaza Strip. Under India - Brazil - South Africa (IBSA) Forum’s assistance, an Indoor Multi purpose Sports Complex has been constructed in Ramallah. Al Quds hospital in Gaza is in the process of reconstruction and the process of building a rehabilitation center in Nablus has started. Trade between India and Palestine has shown steady improvement. Indian PM Modi hosted Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in New Delhi in 2017. India’s skillful balancing act between its Israeli and Palestinian counterparts is an enlightening illustration of the transformation Indian foreign policy has experienced since the end of the Cold War.

PM Modi visit to Israel 2017 

• 1st by Indian PM in 25 years since we established full diplomatic ties with Israel 
• In a departure from norm - official meetings were held at Jerusalem's King David Hotel, where PM Modi stayed 
• PM visited Yad Vashem memorial( Israels largest Holocaust memorial) and honoured the victims of Holocaust 
• PM saluted the Indian soliders who laid down their lives protecting the Israeli city of Haifa during 1st World War from ottoman empire force (Dalpat Singh - Known as Hero of Haifa)
• Israeli flower Chrysanthemum will now be called Modi 

Agreements signed 

• Strategic Partnership on Non- Security issuess including Agriculture, Water Managment, Science & Technology, Space and Tourism 
• Israel to help secure food security in India 
• 40 $ million joint fund for research and development in innovation 
• Both agreed that strong measures should be taken against terrorist, terro orgnisation, their network and all those who encourage terror 
• Bharat Forge and IAI (Israaeli Aircraft Industry) have signed an MoU to expand the joint venture that the companies are establishing as part of an agreement meant to build, develop, manufacture and market selected air defence system and light weight special purpose munitions  

PM Modi's visit to Israel only made the de- hyphenation which began in 1992 blatant and conspicuous. India have reached that sense of political confidence in our relationship with both the Israel and the Palestine where we feel we can work with them independent of each other. 

Is Israel Indian's ‘Natural Allies ?

Diversified relationship (Including Defence, Nano - Technology, Space Research and a understanding on Counter-Terrorism) that India share with Israel may tempt one to call Israel a "Natural Allies". But India should continue its Multi-vectored approach towards its diplomacy and build multiple alliances and resist the temptation to call Israel as its natural ally for the following reasons.

• India needs the help of Saudi Arabia as much as Israel to counter terrorism.
• If India wishes to be a permanent member of the UNSC , it needs to have consistent stand against human rights violations. Such stand may impact its support among various countries for permanent member of UNSC.
• Our economy is heavily dependent on the oil & petroleum from the Islamic nations of west Asia. Millions of Indians work and send back billions of dollars to India as remittances. We have a lot of goodwill among these Islamic nations generated over the decades, which was visible during Operation Raahat – evacuation of Indians from Yemen.
• Iran, the Israel’s natural enemy is the only possible land route to India to reach the resource rich Central Asia in case the situation in Afghanistan goes against Indian interests
• With China increasing its presence in west Asia, it is imperative that we maintain our goodwill.

So for the above reasons, India’s national interest is better served by building multiple alliances and leverages than proclaiming Israel as its natural ally. 

Palestinian national movement have split in to two, One is the secular one based on the PLO and the other is the Hamas, which is built around the Muslim Brotherhood. India remain uncomfortable with the Hamas. India is very much focused on the Palestinian Authority which is now in a quasi alliance with the Israeli government, so now India have a situation in which, Palestinians with whom India are comfortable with are not all that uncomfortable with India's relationship with Israel, which makes things easier for India, so the challenge for Indian diplomatic community is not about balancing Israel and Palestine as Middle East politics and diplomacy is no longer Israel-Palestine centric it is becoming sectarian in nature with new emerging fissures and issues. 

The real challenge lies in how well India balance its relations with Israel and Iran. When ever India gets closer to Israel, Iran gets more and more uncomfortable and vice- versa. Iran is crucial in India's Geo Strategic calculations. Iran is crucial for India's transit access to the gas rich Central Asia. India's involvement in the construction of the Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman shows that India is trying to secure some of its influence in the region to counter balance Chines presence in Gwadar port of Pakistan. Iran is very important for India's energy security as an important source of crude oil. The challenge therefore for India is to balance the relations in such a way that neither Israel nor Iran feel offended leading to the ties being affected. It is a challenge for diplomatic community as well as government to indulge in this delegate balancing act. Lets hope that India's fate is not to choose between Iran and Israel. Its not Israel or Iran, Its Israel and Iran that will be in India's best interest.