6 introductionthe Arabs to resolve their diff erences with Israel through negotiation.
Nehru and his successors, however, could not internalize these noble ide-
als and treat Israel as a normal country. Far from treating it as a friend—
let alone an ally— for over four de cades, India was not prepared to main-
tain even a modicum of ties with it. As David Ben- Gurion lamented, the
high moral principles advocated by Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru were
never applied to India’s Israel policy.^12
Israel was an exceptional case even when compared to Pakistan, a
country described by some as India’s “center of gravity.”^13 During the
cold war, India’s foreign- policy choices were often shaped by the attitude
of other countries toward Pakistan. The pro- Pakistan slant of the United
States, for example, partly resulted in India moving closer to Moscow.
Although India was not in a position to retaliate over Middle Eastern sup-
port and sympathy for Pakistan, its unequivocal support for the Arabs
over Israel was never reciprocated. If the Arab states (especially Nasser’s
Egypt) remained neutral during the Sino- Indian war of 1962, most re-
mained sympathetic to Pakistan during the Indo- Pakistan wars of 1965
and 1971. Though the impact of Arab support did not infl uence the out-
come of these confl icts, they pointed to India’s limited infl uence in the
Middle East. As King Abdullah remarked during his state visit in Janu-
ary 2006, the Arabs perceived India to be a friend but saw Pakistan as an
Islamic brethren. During much of the cold- war era, India’s infl uence in
the region vis-à- vis Pakistan was limited, and India never took the Arabs
to task for their refusal to accommodate Indian concerns, despite the lat-
ter acceding to their demands regarding Israel. It settled for suff ering in
silence. Avoiding any open discussion on Arab support for Pakistan, New
Delhi merely highlighted the Arab “understanding” during confl icts and
thereby hoped to minimize any negative fallout.
Whichever way one looks at it, Israel has been a unique, controversial,
and at times hypocritical dimension in India’s foreign policy.
Contrasts and Convergences
Contrasts with Israel were often used to explain prolonged non-
relations. There is nothing in common, the argument went, and therefore
no relations. The contrasts between India and Israel are interesting and
colorful. While the Indian nationalists were fi ghting the British, the
mainstream Labor Zionist leadership was compelled to identify itself with