In 1947, Albert Einstein urged Nehru to support a Jewish homeland. Nehru declined, citing Palestinian rights. Decades later, India and Israel now share deep defence, tech, and trade ties—balancing moral history with strategic realism.
New Delhi (ABC Live): India–Israel Relations: In 1947, as the world stood at the crossroads of post-war reconstruction and new beginnings, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to India’s interim Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. His tone was warm, respectful, and deeply hopeful. Einstein expressed joy upon learning that the Indian Constituent Assembly had abolished untouchability. But the celebrated physicist had more than praise in mind—he was making a moral appeal for India’s support in the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
Nearly 80 years later, Einstein’s letter and Nehru’s thoughtful reply remain a fascinating reflection of a time when moral imperatives and geopolitical reality clashed—and the legacy of that exchange continues to echo in today’s robust India–Israel partnership.
?? A Letter that Sparked a Diplomatic Dilemma
Einstein, moved by the plight of Jews after the Holocaust, argued passionately for the creation of a Jewish state. In his letter dated June 13, 1947, he drew a parallel between Jews and India’s untouchables:
“The curse of the pariah was about to be lifted… just as the world’s attention was on another group who, like the untouchables, have suffered for centuries.”
He appealed to Nehru’s sense of justice, hoping that India—on the verge of becoming a republic—might back the Zionist cause.
In his measured reply a month later, Nehru sympathised with Jewish suffering but made clear that India could not support a solution that ignored the rights of Palestinian Arabs. He warned:
“Why have [the Jews] failed to gain the goodwill of the Arabs?… Has the approach adopted not added to the conflict?”
India later voted against the 1947 UN Partition Plan, and maintained a cautious distance from Israel for decades, even as it supported Palestinian statehood.
? From Strategic Distance to Strategic Partnership
It wasn’t until 1992 that India established full diplomatic ties with Israel. Since then, the relationship has grown exponentially, pivoting from low-key cooperation to full-spectrum strategic alignment.
Key Milestones:
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Defence: Israel is now India’s second-largest arms supplier, providing drones, radar systems, anti-missile shields, and precision-guided munitions.
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Agriculture: Through the Indo-Israeli Agriculture Project, Israeli water-saving and crop-boosting technologies have transformed farming in several Indian states.
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Technology & Cybersecurity: In forums like I2U2 (India–Israel–UAE–US), both nations are pursuing joint ventures in clean energy, AI, and space.
?? Adani, Elbit, and the Defence Revolution
India’s defence shift has been visibly marked by the private sector’s entry into cutting-edge weapon systems. In Hyderabad, Adani Defence & Aerospace and Israel’s Elbit Systems co-produce the Hermes?900 UAV (locally branded as Drishti-10), one of the most advanced surveillance drones in Asia.
This year, during Operation Sindoor, India’s surgical counterstrike against cross-border threats, the spotlight fell on Adani’s Israeli-origin SkyStriker loitering munition. Described as a “kamikaze drone,” it delivered precision attacks with minimal troop risk.
Gautam Adani later said:
“Operation Sindoor called, and we delivered.”
Meanwhile, Adani’s Haifa port investment underscores just how intertwined the two nations’ security and commercial interests have become.
? Einstein’s Legacy, Nehru’s Realism
Today, India walks a tightrope. It maintains deep defence and tech cooperation with Israel, while reaffirming its commitment to Palestinian rights. In international forums, India often calls for peaceful coexistence, echoing both Nehru’s principled diplomacy and Einstein’s cautionary vision.
Einstein himself had grown sceptical of nationalism. By the 1950s, he warned that unless Arabs were treated as equals, Israel’s moral foundation would be at risk:
“I should much rather see reasonable agreement with the Arabs… than the creation of a Jewish state.”
(Einstein’s political views – Wikipedia)
? The Road Ahead
With shared concerns over terrorism, cyber threats, and food and water security, India and Israel are poised to deepen their partnership. Yet India’s global ambitions—and historical empathy for Palestine—mean it must continue balancing moral diplomacy with military pragmatism.
What began as a private letter between two towering minds has evolved into a strategic partnership grounded in complexity, realism, and responsibility. It is, in many ways, a story of how moral debates echo through the corridors of power for generations.
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