I srael President Reuven Rivlin arrived in India on a six-day visit on Monday. India didn’t have ambassadorial ties with Israel till 1992, while it has long had full diplomatic relations with even Pakistan. A look
‘The loneliest post in the world’
India voted against the 1947 UN Partition Plan which dealt with the creation of a Jewish state.
In 1949, New Delhi voted against the admission of the new state of Israel into the UN. India later allowed Israel to open a consulate in Mumbai. However, Israeli officials were not allowed to set foot in New Delhi where other foreign missions are located
“In Israeli diplomatic circles, Bombay is called the loneliest post in the world” says a 1974 piece in the New York Times
In 1975
A UN resolution equating Zionism with racism was sponsored by communist and Islamic countries. India, as was her wont then, reflexively voted against Israel
The Times They Are a-Changin’
After Narasimha Rao became the Indian Prime Minister in 1991 and with the end of the Cold War, India slowly
changed its stance. In 1991, India voted to repeal the outrageous 1975 resolution. And New Delhi later established full diplomatic relations with Israel. Today India and Israel share close ties; the latter is the third largest supplier of arms to India
Israel and India are threatened by terror because we uphold the values of freedom. We stand together in defending our people and values Israel President Reuven Rivlin