The Israeli embassy recently organised a 'Malida'—a ritual specific to the Bene Israel community of India, which resides mainly around Mumbai. It is observed before any auspicious occasion in the family, sometimes even before an important journey. It consists of special prayers and a dish of sweetened poha, coconuts, dates and fresh fruit.
Keen to foster its unique ties with India, back home, Israel will observe 70 'Malida' events this year, in order to nationally popularise a ritual that is specific to a small community within the Jewish melting pot. Israeli ambassador to India Ron Malka spoke to THE WEEK about these special ties and more. Excerpts:
Q/ You seem to be discovering unique Jewish customs during your stay in India. Apart from Malida, what else have you discovered?
A/ I have discovered that the Indian-Israeli tie is a very emotional one. When I came to New Delhi, I was well aware that the two nations shared very good relations, but the emotional aspect of the ties was a discovery. There is mutual trust and affection, which are foundations for a special collaboration. India and Israel are very comfortable with each other.
We share many similarities and face similar challenges. Whenever we start a new field of cooperation, we realise this. There is this feeling that some barrier has been broken and now there is a flood. There are so many things we can do together.
Q/ It took time, though.
A/ Yes, it did. We established formal relations only in 1992. Before that India was reluctant to deepen ties with Israel as there was an unfounded fear that maybe the Muslim community will not find it appropriate. It was an unfounded fear, we see that, now that the barrier has been broken.
Q/ You mentioned new areas of co operation. Please elaborate.
A/ Earlier, we used to say the sky is the limit in this cooperation. Now that we are cooperating in space, too, there are no limits. Space technology is a new area of cooperation. India and Israel are among the five nations that have reached the moon.
The big focus of cooperation right now is water management, which we are combining with agriculture cooperation. In Israel, we have a holistic approach to water and agriculture. Israel is partnering with India's Jal Mission. Recently, Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Shekhawat visited Israel, where we showed him our frontier technologies of water management. We have now initiated working groups to take the cooperation forward.
Q/ Will the atmosphere of unrest in India impact business?
This is an internal matter of the country. But I will say this. India is the biggest democracy in the world. It respects individual rights and we are confident it will solve tensions the right way. We have all our faith and trust in our close, precious friend, India.
Q/ Where do you see scope for newer areas of cooperation.
A/ Academics is one area. The other is culture. We are keen to expose citizens of our countries to each other's cultures. This Malida function is one initiative. Recently, I hosted an art exhibition, showcasing works of Israeli artists. We want to intensify our cultural exchanges.
We are improving air connectivity. Now there are direct flights between Tel Aviv and Goa and Kochi.
Israel is also looking at northeast India in a big way. It is an area of unexplored tourism for us. In fact, we are sending a delegation of tour guides from Israel for a familiarisation tour of these states, to build up good packages for Israeli visitors.
