Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon on Monday recalled the role of soldiers of the British Indian Army in World War 1 in liberating areas that later became Israel and said India was a country where Jews had lived with total equality for more than 2,000 years.
Gilon was speaking at virtual event that he addressed along with Sanjeev Singla, the Indian envoy to Israel, to mark the launch of a commemorative logo for the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
The Israeli envoy recalled his visits last year along with external affairs minister S Jaishankar to “some places commemorating more than 900 Indian soldiers buried in Israel”. These were soldiers “who fought during World War 1 as part of the British Indian army to liberate this area that later became Israel”, he said.
Gilon said Jews have lived “for over 2,000 years in India in total equality and peacefully”. He added, “And as someone who arrived [in India] after serving quite extensive periods in Europe, I was very much surprised to see how much love and appreciation there is in India towards Israel. There is another element – there is no anti-Semitism in India, this phrase just doesn’t exist.”