had nothing to do with the merits of their application would be disas-
trous both for the or ga ni za tion’s prestige and authority.”^43 Despite these
earlier positions and declarations, India chose to vote against Israel’s admis-
sion to the United Nations. Principles were given up in favor of pragmatism
and po liti cal calculations. This approach became more pronounced dur-
ing the Bandung conference.
The Bandung Boycott, 1955
The fi rst Afro- Asian conference in Bandung in April 1955 was a
major milestone for Israel, albeit for all the wrong reasons. This meeting
legitimized its po liti cal exclusion from the emerging bloc of Third World
countries. The conference recognized Arab veto power over Israel’s par-
ticipation in various regional organizations. From then on, organizers of
such gatherings were forced to choose between one Israel and many
Arab countries. At the bilateral level, Israel “lost” China to the Arab coun-
tries and had to wait for over three de cades to establish ties with Bei-
jing.^44 On the Indian front, Nehru was coming under the infl uence of
Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian president. As Israel gradually came to
realize, Bandung marked the beginning of its isolation from Asia, com-
pelling it to consolidate the Eurocentric outlook of the yishuv period.
The immediate background for Bandung can be traced to the Co-
lombo Conference held in April 1954. Hosted by Prime Minister Sir John
Kotelawala of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the conference was attended by the
prime ministers of Burma (now Myanmar), India, Indonesia, and Paki-
stan. The leaders discussed the prevailing regional and international sit-
uation and the need for greater cooperation among the newly in de pen-
dent countries of Asia and Africa. As they deliberated their future course
of action, Prime Minister Mohammed Ali of Pakistan introduced a reso-
lution on Palestine that declared the establishment of the state of Israel
as a violation of international law. It condemned Israel’s “aggressive poli-
cies” toward its neighbors and expressed grave concern over the plight of
Palestinian refugees.^45
By that time, India had already recognized Israel and was in principle
committed to establishing diplomatic ties. Thus Nehru was unable to en-
dorse Pakistan’s position that the creation of Israel was a violation of inter-
national law.^46 Burma and its leader U Nu had good relations with Israel.
Sri Lanka had recognized the Jewish state and Indonesian leaders had
190 nehru and the era of deterioration, 1947–1964