Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, today ,at the special Knesset session in honor of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi:
“Mr. Speaker,
Members of the Knesset,
As you know, heads of state and prime ministers come to the Knesset. We receive them warmly, and it is always a moving moment for all of us and for me. I must tell you, Narendra, my dear friend, I am deeply, deeply moved by your visit today. Since I must be diplomatic, I won’t rank it, that would get me into trouble. But I have never been more moved than by your visit with us, a great friend of Israel, a passionate supporter of the alliance between India and Israel, and a great leader on the international stage.
My dear friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and your distinguished delegation: Welcome to Jerusalem.
Narendra, my dear friend, and I do not say this lightly; I would say you are even more than a friend, a brother. In many ways, we are brothers.
When you were here last, we were both on the Mediterranean coast. I suggested we take off our shoes and go into the water, the same water we wanted to desalinate, and indeed we did so using Israeli technology. With all due respect to our Christian friends, they said we didn’t just wade in the water, we walked on water. That isn’t true. We didn’t walk on water, but we have performed miracles since then. We have doubled our trade, tripled our cooperation, and quadrupled our understandings in ways I cannot begin to describe, and in certain ways that I should not describe. But it is a wonderful friendship, both personally between the two of us, between our two countries, and between our two peoples.
Earlier today, my wife Sara and I welcomed you at the airport, and as you stepped off the stairs, we embraced, because Prime Minister Modi’s personal embrace is something unique. It is known worldwide as the ‘Modi Hug.’ When you hug someone tightly, truly, you know it is not a show. It is the real thing. It is called the ‘Modi Hug,’ and I want to return that hug to you on behalf of every member of the Knesset; it points not only to the brave personal friendship between us. It reflects the warmth that exists between our two nations.
India is a giant power of one and a half billion people. Israel is a bit smaller. But Israel is a giant too. It is a superpower. It is a giant in spirit, a giant in deeds, capable of performing miracles. The alliance between us is a massive multiplier of the strengths of each of our countries. It is a multiplier of spirit and a multiplier of actions and capabilities.
We are two ancient civilizations dating back thousands of years. If we look at where human civilization grew on Earth, it developed in a few places, the main ones being the Indus Valley and the Jordan Valley. These are the places where great things developed, great spiritual things, conceptual things, matters of the heart, the mind, and morality.
We are two ancient civilizations, and we had to travel through the journey of generations and face troubles and challenges. Yet nearly 80 years ago, at almost the same time, we both broke free from British rule and gained independence. We have so many shared interests. We are two democracies. You are a giant democracy, but so is Israel. Think of the things we had to do, the things we went through, and how we preserved our democracy against challenges that I think very few countries have faced.
We are now deepening our profound alliance, the strong, strategic, open alliance we have created. We created an open alliance.
No less than that, both our countries are at the peak of their power. Israel is stronger than ever, and India is stronger than ever!
I just said to the Indian Prime Minister, when we sat in your office, Mr. Speaker: I personally follow every piece of news coming from India.
India is now ranked at such-and-such a number in the world, high, high up; India has now achieved another goal, very high; India did this and India did that. First of all, Narendra did it, and with him, the Indian people. And I am so pleased, and I only say: More and more and more. Because in the twelve years under your leadership, you initiated reforms, you invested in infrastructure, you acted in employment, health, agriculture, welfare, quality of life, energy, technology, and innovation.
The sky is the limit? No way. India is a space power, one of the largest in the world. The sky is not the limit.
But the challenges never end. Yet India under your leadership, my friend, has established its position as an Asian lion charging toward the goal: more growth, more progress, more prosperity, more prosperity. And I want to tell you, my friend Narendra: There is another reason for the deep appreciation you receive here in this house and from the public in Israel, because immediately after the horrific massacre on October 7, immediately after that murderous attack, you stood up so clearly, so morally, so sharply, you stood by Israel.
We will never forget that. We know what we stood against. But many in the world, perhaps with momentary, initial sympathy, forgot very quickly. Israel stands, has stood, and continues to stand at the forefront of civilization against radical Islam. And the home base of radical Islam is the Middle East, but the lava that has erupted from the volcano of this fanaticism is spreading rapidly to every continent, to every country. India, like Israel, has known terrorist attacks, severe terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of innocents. When my wife Sara and I visited Mumbai, we were in that same famous hotel where that murderous attack took place, and from there we walked a few meters to the Chabad center, where despicable terrorists murdered the couple, two young parents of the boy Moishe. And who saved Moishe? It was his Indian nanny who saved Moishe. That, too, we will never forget.
India supports Israel, and Israel supports India, in cases that are well-known and in cases that are less known. India supports Israel because it understands that Israel serves as a defensive wall against barbarism, and we do this first and foremost to protect ourselves, but also in the service of the civilized world.
Israel, like India, is a fortress of democracy, of freedom, and of human rights, in a wild region, teeming with dangers.
The massacre of October 7 made it unequivocally clear: Either the jihadist ‘Axis of Evil’ will break us, or we will break it. And we are breaking it and will break it! We have already done so and are doing so thanks to the heroism of our fighters, the men and women fighters, our commanders, what heroism.
My friend Narendra, I would like to introduce you, if there is time, to some of them; you must see them. I would like to introduce you to our wounded, some of them amputees. There is one of them, I will bring his picture tonight, I want to show you. His name is Ari, a hero of Israel.
Thanks to the heroism of our fighters, thanks to the calculated and courageous decisions made by the Israeli government spread here before you; thanks to the steadfastness of our citizens, thanks to all these, we have struck our enemies hip and thigh, on seven fronts of the War of Redemption. But my dear friend, we have paid heavy costs. And I want to tell you, my dear friend that fighters, men and women, from families of Indian origin also fell in battle. We bow our heads in their memory, together with all our heroes who fell.
Our defensive war is a most just war. But it is not only a war on the battlefield. It is a war for the truth. It is a war for the future of humanity. And I must say, we see that in the battle for the future of humanity, antisemitism is once again rearing its head. We were there only 80 years ago and we saw it: Antisemitism that starts with the Jews, and afterward endangers all of humanity. In the face of waves of antisemitism and the lies hurled at us, we have not bowed our heads. But even in this struggle, Narendra, we found in you and in India true friends.
[English]
In a world where antisemitism is rising, India stands out: A civilization where Jews were never persecuted by the state, only welcomed.
[End English]
Narendra my friend, Prime Minister of India, in the face of radical Islam that threatens all of humanity and free nations, we will build together an iron alliance. An alliance of nations that advocate for moderation, progress, human dignity, and mutual respect.
An alliance of nations that sanctify life, and are ready to fight against those who worship death and want to return us to the dark barbarism of the Middle Ages.
Next week, we will celebrate the holiday of Purim, and the Jewish people will read the Scroll of Esther from the Bible. India is mentioned there, as you said, Mr. Speaker, in the description of the ancient kingdom of Persia and Media, which according to the Scroll stretched ‘from India to Ethiopia’. Jewish communities existed throughout the generations in India. Since we gained our independence, tens of thousands of Indian-born Jews have come to Israel.
And recently we decided in the government to bring part of the ‘Bnei Menashe’ community in India to Israel, we met their representatives, sweet children, and one of the parents told me: ‘We are not Bnei Menashe, we are Bnei Yisrael!’ Exactly right. And they are immigrating to Israel out of their desire to be absorbed into our state.
Because the yearning for Zion, the yearning for the Land of Israel, stands at the heart of the Zionist vision. This was understood by some of India’s greatest spirits, who regarded Zionism in its early days with great sympathy. Among them was the great Indian poet, Tagore. Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature even before World War I, and during it. There were those who compared his white-bearded figure to the prophets of Israel. Words that came out of India spoke to us, as did books that came out of India.
My late uncle, Prof. Elisha Netanyahu, was one of the founders of the Faculty of Mathematics at the Technion. Uncle Elisha always spoke to me with admiration about Indian mathematicians. And specifically, he mentioned Ramanujan. He mentioned him many times, because Ramanujan’s genius discoveries at the beginning of the 20th century changed the face of mathematics. Ramanujan came from the people, just as you came from the people! You rose from the people. You rose higher and higher because you knew what your roots were.
Well, all this happened at the beginning of the last century. And toward the end of the last century, India and Israel established full relations. And one of the results of this diplomatic turning point is the movement of Israeli travelers ‘to the East.’ Tens of thousands of Israelis, young and old, visit India every year. They admire everything, everything. Everything. What exists today and also the ancient cultural heritage.
One Indian citizen asks a traveler from Israel: ‘How many of you are there?’ And the Israeli answers him, ‘Ten million.’ And the Indian continues, ‘And how many in Israel?’ Not a billion and a half. But many, many who admire India, embrace India, and also want to come to India. One of them is me, and my wife is here too, we want a return visit. I’ve already produced that, I’m telling you now, the first diplomatic achievement. We will bring the government to India. Not only will we bring the Prime Minister of India to the government, we will bring the Israeli government to India for a visit.
In this current visit of yours to Israel, we will tighten the bonds between us even further, both personal and political. Because together we are leading moves on a historic scale.
This is certainly happening regarding security challenges and security opportunities. But not only in security: We are creating innovative action-axes in economy, trade, energy, technology, cyber, artificial intelligence, and space. In space, as well.
Minister of Defense, Israel [Katz], you speak of this often, and here you know there is a listening ear. We are developing together the IMEC initiative, this is a maritime and land corridor that will connect India, through the Arabian Peninsula, to the Port of Haifa, and from here to the Mediterranean and Europe. IMEC, this maritime-land corridor, can only exist and flourish if it passes through stable and secure countries. And there are no countries stronger and more secure on this axis than India and Israel. Therefore, I welcome your commitment to Israel being a connecting link between Asia and Europe through the Port of Haifa!
In this visit of yours, we will also implement agreements in tourism, culture, agriculture, water, and desalination. And in the spirit of the ‘Abraham Accords’ and peace, we will continue the revolution of new alliances, of increasing regional stability, of strengthening resilience, progress, and prosperity. I want you to notice: we are not just reacting to reality. We are shaping reality, out of a closeness and trust greater than ever!
My friend Narendra, since your last visit to Israel, the previous one in 2017, much water has flowed in the Ganges River in India, as well as in the Mediterranean, where we both dipped our feet on a wonderful summer day. But since then, I wish to update you, we have kept in constant contact. We speak dozens of times on the phone, conversations so open, so friendly. With warmth of heart, true and not feigned warmth. We have continued since then to promote the relations between us. We nurtured the ties between the two peoples, in each of which there is much curiosity and much, much talent.
I remember well the heart-stirring experience when we visited with you in the Gujarat district. That is where you grew up, where you were Governor. And there, Governor Modi discovered the genius of agriculture in Israel and brought it to India, and from there it spread to all of India. Well, we visited there, and when we visited Gujarat, hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands of residents stood in the streets and cheered and waved the flags of Israel and India. And there was also a giant sign in Hebrew, giant, as big as this whole building, ‘Welcome,’ in Hebrew.
So today, distinguished guest, you are again in Israel, you are received here with the same warm reception, with the same closeness of hearts. In the 21st century, we will bring the alliance between Israel and India to unprecedented heights. And I am sure the day will come, I am sure because when we visited India, you brought a performance by the fantastic artists of Bollywood. So I say the day will come, and they will make a movie in Hollywood about the story of brotherhood between the two countries. And I promise you, it will be a blockbuster! Prime Minister Modi, my dear friend Narendra, I bless you from the bottom of my heart, you and your entourage. May you all be welcome in Israel, in Jerusalem, in true friendship, and in true appreciation. Welcome!”