Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
and its collaboration with the colonial powers infuriated Nehru, and for the first
time he ruled out diplomatic ties with Israel on the plea that the 'time is not yet
ripe'. Since then, this became a standard Indian refrain to explain the absence of
diplomatic relations with the Jewish State.
Afterwards matters deteriorated and India moved closer to the Arabs and
became less friendly toward Israel. Even occasional Israeli military assistance
during India's conflicts with China in 1962 and Pakistan in 1965, did not arrest
this downward spiral. India's support for the Arabs during the June 1967 war
was a foregone conclusion. Under Mrs Indira Gandhi India found the newly
formed Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) a useful ally in the Middle East
and in January 1975 she recognized the PLO as the sole and legitimate
representative of the Palestinian people.
Even the
Janata
-led non-Congress government, which came to power in 1977,
found it prudent to continue with the Middle East policy structured by Nehru and
nourished by his daughter. With the result, the
incognito
visit of Israel's Foreign
Minister, Moshe Dayan, during Morarji Desai's tenure proved to be more
controversial and not especially fruitful.
In the international arena, opposition and hostility toward Israel was also on the
rise. Countries that were neutral, if not friendlier, at the time of Israel's formation
began to recognize and capitalize on the political benefits accruing from
supporting the Palestinians. Those who benefited from economic and security aid
from Israel in the past felt it prudent to adopt an anti-Israeli posture in public.
Since its exclusion from Bandung conference in 1955, the Afro-Asian
community and the non-aligned countries were highly critical of Israel. With the
Soviet Union and its allies providing a strong ideological foundation, anti-Israeli
rhetoric became fashionable and politically correct. Having aspired for a
leadership role in the Afro-Asian world, non-aligned movement and among the
Third World countries, India found it prudent and wise to adopt an unfriendly
posture
vis-à-vis
Israel and availed itself of every opportunity to condemn Israel
and establish its credentials among the Arabs. Neither the advent of Islamic
resurgence and religious radicalism following Nasser's defeat in the June 1967 war
nor the pro-Pakistan stand taken by principal powers of the Middle East made
any significant dent in India's unfriendly policy towards Israel.
When she returned to power in 1980, Indira Gandhi upgraded the Palestinian
mission in New Delhi to a fully-fledged embassy and conferred all diplomatic
privileges and immunities. At the same time, the Israeli consul languished in
Bombay. Even this minimal representation was curtailed following a
controversial media interview by Yossef Hasseen, the then Israeli consul, in June
1982 wherein he criticized India for competing with Pakistan to curry favor
among the Arabs. Though not off the mark, his comments infuriated the
government and in an unprecedented move, Hasseen was declared
persona non
grata
. Denials of visas to Israeli participants to international conferences and
