Likewise, the emergence of the nascent pro- Arab lobby to counter the
perceived pro- Israeli bias in U.S. Middle East policy is a recent phenom-
enon. In India, however, a powerful segment has been highly critical of
the pro- Arab slant of its Middle East policy. Since the days of Nehru, the
opposition castigated his unfriendliness toward Israel, depicting the gov-
ernment as the “attorney for the Arab League,”^23 “chaprasi,”^24 or the “four-
teenth Arab state.”^25 While there is a substantial support for India’s pro-
Arab policy, there has always been a vocal opposition. Until recently, this
has not been the case in the United States.
Despite these diff erences and obvious limitations, it is possible to
draw a parallel between the roles played by American Jews and Indian
Muslims. In terms of their or ga ni za tion, lobbying skills, and po liti cal in-
volvement, they are poles apart. At the same time, both these communi-
ties share certain distinct traits that are relevant to the understanding of
India’s Israel policy. Both have strong ethnonational linkages and attach-
ments to the Middle East, and their foreign- policy involvement is more
visible here than toward any other parts of the world. The demo cratic
environment in the United States and India enables both communities to
articulate their concerns. For the Jews, a pro- Israeli policy serves U.S.
interests, and for the Muslims a pro- Arab policy promotes Indian inter-
ests. Both American Jews and Indian Muslims argue that their respec-
tive foreign- policy choices are not parochial but are refl ective of their re-
spective national ethos and values. If the former harps on the demo cratic
credentials of Israel, the latter highlights the justice of the Palestinian
cause. The po liti cal infl uence of both these communities is acutely recog-
nized during elections and other domestic po liti cal battles. American
leaders do not hesitate to attend important events or ga nized by various
Jewish groups; likewise, no Indian politician skips Iftar parties,^26 even if
they are hosted by bitter po liti cal rivals. For U.S. presidents and Indian
prime ministers alike, they are high- value po liti cal events and not sol-
emn religious occasions.
There is, however, a catch. The role played by the Jews in infl uencing
U.S. Middle East policy is a hotly debated and even contested issue in the
United States. Establishing a similar link between the domestic factor
and India’s Israel policy is a herculean task. India remains the only
demo cratic state that does not declassify offi cial papers. The Right to
Information Act introduced in 2005 does not cover the foreign- policy
domain, and much of the documentation pertaining to the Nehru era
(1947– 1964) remains classifi ed. Sifting through the limited archival
introduction 17