Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council

Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute discusses how India came to rethink its relationship with Israel. 

Today, as reflected by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's high-profile visit to India in January, and by PM Narendra Modi's visit to Israel last July, the Asian giant that once treated Israel as a diplomatic pariah has made a strategic U-turn.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a historic visit to India to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between the two nations.  During this visit, India and Israel have signed nine agreements including Memorandums of Understanding in the fields of

How do other countries handle security at sensitive holy sites? In Mecca there are more than 5,000 CCTV cameras and over 100,000 people employed to provide security during the annual Hajj. Like Israel, Saudi Arabia faces terrorist threats and has upgraded its security in recent years.

The recent two-day visit of Narendra Modi to Israel, the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister, has been depicted as heralding a new strategic partnership between New Delhi and Jerusalem. Indeed, simply by taking place at all, it represented an upgrade of the relationship.

After nearly a quarter century of diplomatic ties, Israeli-Indian relations have come of age.

On Dec. 14, a Palestinian driver rammed passengers at a bus stop in Jerusalem, critically injuring a baby and injuring ten other people. On Jan. 1, Israeli Arab Nashat Milhem carried out a shooting attack in central Tel Aviv, killing Shimon Ruimi, 30, and Alon Bakal, 24, and wounding seven others. M

US-based Indian writer Sadanand Dhume was interviewed by AIJAC about India-Israel relations and Islamic extremism in Indonesia. This post also contains links to Mr. Dhume's other media appearances in Australia.

Speaking on July 18, four days after the deal on Iran's nuclear program was signed, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed that the deal would not change Iran's policy against the "arrogant American government", which he castigated for its support of the "child-killing Zionist regime." I

The UN Human Rights Council closed out its 29th session on July 3 by passing its 62nd resolution against Israel, more than it has passed for every other country combined. This resolution, in which the Council adopted its Commission of Inquiry's misleading Gaza report, saw ‘yes' votes from 41 o

Japan's Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Toshimitsu Motegi, touched down in Israel on Sunday for an official visit, heading a delegation of senior members of his ministry as well as leading Japanese business people. The trip, which came about through an invitation from Prime Minister Netany

Last month saw the biggest electoral victory in India for 30 years. Narendra Modi, a proven state Minister and the face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ousted the Congress Party on the promise of major reforms to revive the Indian economy, despite controversy over his role in ethnic violence in

One of Israel's most important economic relationships is with India and this continues to grow, with trade now around US$5 billion annually (excluding defence, which is reportedly very substantial). Furthermore, Jerusalem and New Delhi are currently negotiating a free trade agreement that is expecte

As India and Israel celebrate their 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties this year, the number of cooperative ventures between the countries are expanding at an accelerating pace. This week, Israel and India entered a fifth round of talks towards the creation of a much-anticipated free trade agreeme

Dr. P.R. Kumaraswamy, Professor with the Centre for West Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, spoke to community members at an AIJAC event on July 16 about India's relations with Israel. Professor Kumaraswamy, who has made Israel the focus of his academic career since 1

Dr. P R Kumaraswamy talks about the history of India-Israel relations, as part of an AIJAC Breakfast lecture held in Melbourne on July 16. Dr. Kumaraswamy is a Professor with the Centre for West Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India. He has studied Israel since 1982 and i

The influential trade publication Defence Review Asia has reported strong growth for Israeli weapons system sales to a number of Asian and Australasian countries, including right here in Australia. The story, which was published on Sunday, focused on burgeoning trade between Israel and India, but a

Twenty years after establishing full diplomatic relations, India has formed a cordial network of Israeli bilateral ties aimed primarily at upgrading India's technological prowess, economic prospects, and military capabilities. These ties are based on converging strategic interests cemented by divers

Delhi Police have arrested an Indian journalist, Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, a Shi'ite with connections to Iran for his alleged role in facilitating the February 13 bombing of an Israeli Embassy car. See previous AIJAC blog post on background on the attack. Interestingly, reporting on this arrest ha

Israel's cutting edge advances in water and agriculture are helping the country make commercial and diplomatic inroads into parts of Asia that have previously been difficult to reach.