toward the Jewish state has come under severe criticism, both in Israel and
elsewhere.^66 Idealism is the most common explanation for the Zionist in-
terest in India. The familiarity of and admiration for Indian leaders such as
Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru by the yishuv illustrate this aspect. Long be-
fore he became a leading fi gure in the nationalist struggle, Nehru’s Auto-
biography was translated into Hebrew,^67 and so were the poems of the Nobel
laureate Rabindranath Tagore. For a language revived after being dormant
for centuries, these translations were no mean achievements.
Idealism, ironically, plays only a marginal role in international rela-
tions. Hard- nosed and realistic calculations are justifi ed through moral
considerations and ethical arguments. While one cannot go to the extent
of suggesting that international relations are immoral by nature, one
should not attribute the behaviors of groups and states merely to moral
and ethical calculations. Zionism was no exception to this trend, and
thus one must look for other reasons for the Zionist interest in India. As
India was slowly moving toward in de pen dence, the Zionists realized that
they could not ignore such a big country. Since the end of World War II,
it was clear that Britain would relinquish its “jewel in the crown.” The
formation of the interim government in September 1946 under the leader-
ship of Nehru was a major step in this direction. Meanwhile, India joined
the United Nations as a founding member and was slowly making its
presence felt as an in de pen dent player in a number of international bod-
ies. Its election to the eleven- member UNSCOP in May 1947 pointed to
its burgeoning relevance and importance.
There was also a larger po liti cal consideration: India’s Muslim popula-
tion. Its unique position as the center of world’s largest Muslim popu-
lation enhanced the importance of British India. As the largest commu-
nity outside the entire dar ul- Islam (House of Islam), the Indian Muslims
received considerable attention world over, and the yishuv was not an ex-
ception. The Zionists were aware of the Muslim factor at the time of the
Balfour Declaration. The perceived opposition from Indian Muslims con-
siderably delayed the British decision to endorse the demand for a Jewish
national home. Se nior offi cials in the India Offi ce were opposed to Jews
being given special privileges in Palestine. Such a move, they feared,
would result in widespread opposition from the Indian Muslims and
would lead to unexpected consequences. The fears about the negative in-
fl uences of British offi cials serving in India weighed heavily upon the
Zionist leaders, Weizmann in par tic u lar.^68 For the Indian Muslims,
Palestine was an integral part of the Jazirat al- Arab and could not be
the congress party and the yishuv 59