Narendra Modi is set to become the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. The dates have not yet been finalised, but the Prime Minister’s office must introspect hard before that in order to comprehend the moral benefits of such a trip.
Israel and India have shared 23 years of diplomatic relations. An official visit, however, will put a stamp of approval on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inhuman policies towards Palestinians. Israel has been carrying out a steady campaign, over decades, of denying the Palestinian people the right to have a separate homeland and coupled with this humiliation are acts of murder where men, women and children are being systematically liquidated. It is not for nothing that an international campaign to hold Israel accountable for its crimes is gathering pace.
It is precisely on these grounds that India — being one of the architects of the non-aligned movement, which refuses to align with any bloc or alliance, particularly those led by the US and Russia; and as a supporter of nonviolence and international cooperation as a means of settling disputes — must cancel the visit. New Delhi has an obligation to live up to its own ethics and delegitimise Israel.
