recognition without relations 135visited Israel; as a sequel to this visit, Ben- Gurion extended a formal but
rebuff ed invitation to Nehru.^161 During this period, one of important visi-
tors from India was Homi Bhabha, the chairman of the Atomic Energy
Commission.^162 A few planned visits did not materialize: for example,
upon his transfer from New Delhi to Moscow, Menon was unable to stop
in Israel in 1954 to meet his old friend Eytan.^163
Similarly, a number of Israeli leaders and offi cials visited India. Until
the mid- 1970s, when Indian visas became diffi cult for Israeli passport
holders, a number of Israeli scientists came to India to participate in vari-
ous international meetings. They were often used as a meeting point for
scientists from both countries.^164 Israeli scientists came to India as part
of various UN- sponsored programs. The Israeli labor federation His-
tadrut sponsored a number of visits to India, often at the invitation of the
Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), a trade union affi liated
with the Congress Party.^165 In subsequent years, things deteriorated, and
India refused to grant visas to Israeli nationals, including athletes, thereby
preventing Israeli participation in a number of international meetings
and events or ga nized and hosted by India.
At the po liti cal level, a number of offi cial and semioffi cial visits took
place during the nonrelations years. Among the notable visitors to India
were Eytan (1952); Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett (1956); Labor Minister
Yigal Alon (1964); Minister of Development Mordechai Bentov (1959);
Ruth Dayan, the wife of Defense Minister Moshe Dayan (1968); and For-
eign Minister Moshe Dayan (1977). The visit of Sharett took place in the
midst of the Suez crisis, and despite his strong opposition to Ben- Gurion’s
adventure, the Israeli leader was forced to defend his government’s ac-
tions when he met Prime Minister Nehru on October 30.^166 In late 1961,
Foreign Ministry Director General Gideon Rafael, a successor of Eytan,
met Nehru in New Delhi, during which the Indian prime minister reluc-
tantly admitted that relations should have been established immediately
after recognition.^167 Contacts also existed between India and interna-
tional Jewry, notably the meeting between Nehru and Chairman of the
World Zionist Or ga ni za tion Nahum Goldman in June 1957 in New
Delhi. Coming shortly after the Suez crisis and severe Indian criticism of
Israel, Goldman was trying to fathom, if not modify, India’s position on
normalization.^168
In the end, such diverse contacts and diplomatic maneuvers were inter-
esting but not fruitful. For over four de cades, Israel was unable to make
progress on the normalization front. At one time, Israel even contemplated