What do Israelis think of India?
Israel is the second largest weapon supplier to India after Russia, Indians love Israel for the most part, etc. Indians basically conside... More
Originally Answered: What do Israelis feel about Hindus and India?
India and Israel are irrevocably tied to one another in a vast quantity of ways.
It's true that India is the number one buyer of Israeli weaponry in the world, but also, in recent years India has signed deals with Israel to collaborate on Space research, in particular, satellite technology; On agricultural and educational initiatives, and further technological innovations.
Below is a Wikipedia link which gives you a full spectrum of Israel's collaborations with India:
India–Israel relations
To say that Israelis don't consider what is going on outside their country is laughable. Israelis are extremely well-read and well-travelled people. I've never met an Israeli who hadn't traveled and spent time in other countries.
India is the number one destination for young Israelis after their mandatory army service. Goa is considered the most popular tourist destination for Israelis, with an estimated 35,000 Israelis arriving in Goa each year.
More about the Israeli phenomenon of travelling after army service:
Out Of Israel, Into The World
Of course, there are major terrorist problems in India, not just for Israeli tourists visiting there, but for the Indian population itself. There are Muslim extremist groups in India that are tied to Al Qaeda and now to ISIS as well. Terrorism is something both Israelis and Indians have to deal with on a daily basis. I think it links us together actually.
There is a large Israeli cultural interest in all things Indian. Indian dance, Indian food, Indian clothes, meditation, and yoga are everywhere in Israel. There is a huge hippy population in Israel that more or less idealizes certain Indian cultural values and holds Indian-style events, some of which are massive, like the "Shantipi". Actually, "shanti" is a word you hear a lot in Israel if you spend time in one of the many hippy communities there.
(Perfect music video to demonstrate both Israeli music and hippy culture all at once! The woman singing in Hindi, by the way, is our very own Liora Yitzhak, who is a Jewish Indian Israeli singer)
Of course, there is a large group of Indian Israelis:
You can read more about Indian Israelis in my answer here:
Rivka Stein's answer to What is some cultural information about the Indian Jewish community in Israel?
Hundreds of Indians come to Israel every year to participate in one of the numerous agricultural education initiatives devoted to teaching young Indian agricultural engineers about Israeli agricultural technology that they can use back in India.
I've met many people who have come from India for this reason. I personally know of several cases of an entire Indian community pooling together money to send a group of young people to learn about Israeli agriculture so they can return to their communities with knowledge that will help them. The main reason for this, (as I learned from them) is that they came from rather arid places which presented a challenge for them in growing the vegetables they rely on for food and Israel is famous for its agricultural achievements, as the south of Israel is all desert, and yet the land is mainly used for agricultural purposes, which gained Israel the reputation for "making the desert bloom".
information on recent Israeli agricultural initiatives in India:
Page on aijac.org.au
What do Israelis feel about Hindus in particular? I don't think I can answer that question on behalf of all Israelis. I'm an Atheist, like many Israelis are, and I don't pander to or sing the praises of any one religion. My personal view is that there are so many, many, many, many races of people, ethnicities, cultures, languages that fit under the classification of "Hindu" in India, that it's hard for me to clump them all together under that one title. I do, however, personally feel there is a parallel between the suffering of Hindu people and the suffering of Israelis under Islamic terror. I think we've both suffered under that same disease, so we both know what that feels like and it brings us closer together.
It's true that India is the number one buyer of Israeli weaponry in the world, but also, in recent years India has signed deals with Israel to collaborate on Space research, in particular, satellite technology; On agricultural and educational initiatives, and further technological innovations.
Below is a Wikipedia link which gives you a full spectrum of Israel's collaborations with India:
India–Israel relations
To say that Israelis don't consider what is going on outside their country is laughable. Israelis are extremely well-read and well-travelled people. I've never met an Israeli who hadn't traveled and spent time in other countries.
India is the number one destination for young Israelis after their mandatory army service. Goa is considered the most popular tourist destination for Israelis, with an estimated 35,000 Israelis arriving in Goa each year.
More about the Israeli phenomenon of travelling after army service:
Out Of Israel, Into The World
Of course, there are major terrorist problems in India, not just for Israeli tourists visiting there, but for the Indian population itself. There are Muslim extremist groups in India that are tied to Al Qaeda and now to ISIS as well. Terrorism is something both Israelis and Indians have to deal with on a daily basis. I think it links us together actually.
There is a large Israeli cultural interest in all things Indian. Indian dance, Indian food, Indian clothes, meditation, and yoga are everywhere in Israel. There is a huge hippy population in Israel that more or less idealizes certain Indian cultural values and holds Indian-style events, some of which are massive, like the "Shantipi". Actually, "shanti" is a word you hear a lot in Israel if you spend time in one of the many hippy communities there.
(Perfect music video to demonstrate both Israeli music and hippy culture all at once! The woman singing in Hindi, by the way, is our very own Liora Yitzhak, who is a Jewish Indian Israeli singer)
Of course, there is a large group of Indian Israelis:
You can read more about Indian Israelis in my answer here:
Rivka Stein's answer to What is some cultural information about the Indian Jewish community in Israel?
Hundreds of Indians come to Israel every year to participate in one of the numerous agricultural education initiatives devoted to teaching young Indian agricultural engineers about Israeli agricultural technology that they can use back in India.
I've met many people who have come from India for this reason. I personally know of several cases of an entire Indian community pooling together money to send a group of young people to learn about Israeli agriculture so they can return to their communities with knowledge that will help them. The main reason for this, (as I learned from them) is that they came from rather arid places which presented a challenge for them in growing the vegetables they rely on for food and Israel is famous for its agricultural achievements, as the south of Israel is all desert, and yet the land is mainly used for agricultural purposes, which gained Israel the reputation for "making the desert bloom".
information on recent Israeli agricultural initiatives in India:
Page on aijac.org.au
What do Israelis feel about Hindus in particular? I don't think I can answer that question on behalf of all Israelis. I'm an Atheist, like many Israelis are, and I don't pander to or sing the praises of any one religion. My personal view is that there are so many, many, many, many races of people, ethnicities, cultures, languages that fit under the classification of "Hindu" in India, that it's hard for me to clump them all together under that one title. I do, however, personally feel there is a parallel between the suffering of Hindu people and the suffering of Israelis under Islamic terror. I think we've both suffered under that same disease, so we both know what that feels like and it brings us closer together.
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