In Israel, Jaishankar hails contribution of Indian Jewish community; emphasizes India-Israel traditions

Jerusalem, Oct 18: External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Israel, interacted with the Indian Jewish community in Israel where he hailed the huge impact it has made in Israel. Jaishankar said that the community has been, in many ways, "an umbilical cord" that has nourished the ties between India and Israel.

 

 

 

In his opening remarks, the foreign minister, said, "Like India, Israel too is a place that requires perhaps a lifetime to discover and understand. I am, therefore, very happy to be back here, amidst a land with which we have ties of centuries, and amidst you who are in many ways been an umbilical cord that has nourished it".

 

He said that the Indian Jewish community carried some flavours of India with it to Israel which they have retained, or assimilated in some form. "I am told, for example, that the distinctive Malida thali made by the Bene Israelis - and Malida is now officially incorporated in the local calendar here. Likewise, the influence of the mangalsutra and the mehendi among Bene Israelis, the practice of baat pukka for formalizing marriages among Baghdadi Jews, and symbolic adorning of the Torah arks with jasmine garlands and the use of manara by the Cochini Jews," said Jaishankar.

 

 

The minister said, "India’s connections with Jerusalem goes back 800 years in time. One of our revered Sufi saints, Baba Farid, meditated in a cave inside the city walls in Jerusalem. And this place later has become a shrine and a pilgrim lodge for travelers from India". Further he added, "You also adopted that very Indian tradition of removing shoes before entering the synagogue. And you all still remember our way of life, our languages, our festivals, and, I am told about the Maiboli journal in Marathi," he added.

 

 

He also spoke about the festivals. Jaishankar said Onam, Holi and Diwali are celebrated in Israel along with Purim and Hanukkah. Citing ancient connections between the two civilizations - both cultural and religious, Jaishankar applauded the contribution of Indian Jews in the nation building process of India, describing them as "one of us".

 

 

"India’s connections with Jerusalem goes back 800 years in time. One of our revered Sufi saints, Baba Farid, meditated in a cave inside the city walls in Jerusalem. And this place later has become a shrine and a pilgrim lodge for travelers from India," said Jaishankar.

 

Jaishankar also highlighted the community's contributions in enriching India's literature and arts with the likes of Nissim Ezekiel who was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi award.

 

Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar began his five-day visit to Israel by laying wreath at a cemetery for Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the region during the World War I in Talpiot, Jerusalem. Notably, about 900 Indian soldiers are interred in cemeteries across Israel in Jerusalem, Ramle and Haifa.

 

 

Jaishankar, who arrived earlier in the day on his first visit to the country as the External Affairs Minister, laid wreath at the Talpiot Cemetery. “Visited the Indian Cemetery at Talpiot as my first engagement in Jerusalem. Paid homage to the brave Indian soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during World War I,” he tweeted.

 

“I am deeply honoured to pay homage to the valiant sons of India who fought with bravery and courage in this land during WWI, bringing glory to themselves, their comrades and their motherland,” Jaishankar wrote in the visitors book.