What is the role of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally in the escalation of the crisis in Kashmir caused by the government’s plans to eliminate the autonomy of its Muslim population? Many commentators are asking this question today, and not without reason.
Is it a coincidence that against the backdrop of this escalation, the world witnessed a public exchange of compliments and assurances of friendship on Twitter between these two leaders, who emphasize their special relationship and have a reputation for Islamophobia?
Instead of the customary holiday greetings from the Indian embassy, Modi decided to respond personally to Netanyahu in a tweet written in Hebrew: «Thank you! I wish the great citizens of Israel and my friend @netanyahu a happy Friendship Day. Israel and India have proven their friendship over time. Our bonds are eternal and strong. I hope that our friendship will continue to grow and strengthen even more.»
Of course, Netanyahu, «Netanyahu’s friend,» could not ignore such courtesy. His party recently put up posters showing him together (but separately) with three other world leaders: Trump, Putin, and Modi. «Thank you, my friend, Prime Minister of India @narendramodi. I completely agree with you. The deep ties between Israel and India are rooted in the strong friendship between Israelis and Indians. We work together in so many fields. I know our ties will only grow stronger in the future,» he wrote in a response tweet.
Meanwhile, the main area of cooperation between the two countries is defense. India is the leading importer of various types of weapons and security systems exported by Israel. It is also no secret who the two countries consider their friends and enemies — their current and potential enemies are mostly Muslims, and the rhetoric of joint opposition to «Islamic terrorism» is constantly and publicly used. This, by the way, is not popular with everyone in either India or Israel.
In an article for the opposition Israeli publication Haaretz, Indian journalist Shairi Malhotra warns that India-Israel relations are becoming hostage to the ideological alliance of the ruling ultranationalist parties of both countries, turning them from pragmatic to ideological. «Strengthening ties between India and Israel should not turn into an anti-Muslim alliance,» the Indian journalist warned, recalling that India has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, with 180 million people, third only to Indonesia and Pakistan. It is now clear that this is exactly what is happening.
Moreover, Modi’s anti-Muslim policies in Kashmir are being implemented simultaneously with the openly anti-Islamic antics of Netanyahu’s government members. The Israeli media has already created a scandal over the plans of his ministers Rafi Peretz and Bezalel Smotrich to attend tomorrow’s Torah Symposium to present an award to Rabbi Itzhak Ginsburg, who openly praised the anti-Muslim terrorist Baruch Goldstein in his poem. It should be recalled that in 1994, Baruch Goldstein shot and killed 29 Muslims praying in the Ibrahim Mosque in Hebron. It should be emphasized that the victims were not participants in the Intifada, not participants in clashes between Arabs and Jewish settlers, but peaceful people who had gathered to pray in their own temple.
And now, in the presence of two ministers, they are about to award a prize to a rabbi who glorifies the degenerate who committed this act. It is not surprising that under such leadership, Israel is not only becoming the Jewish equivalent of ISIS, but is also inciting the corresponding anti-Muslim actions of its strategic allies.
* Banned in Russia