Congress says Modi “diminished India’s moral standing” in Israel

The Congress party on Thursday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for humiliating India with his comments at the Knesset speech. In his speech, Modi pointed out that India recognised Israel on the date of his birth. In a social media post on the platform X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pointed out Albert Einstein's letter to Jawaharlal Nehru and Einstein's decline of the Presidency of Israel. He accused PM Modi of "unabashed defence" of the host and “diminishing India's moral standing”.

Modi, in his speech at the Knesset, said that “we feel your pain” and “share your grief” referring to the October 7 attack on the innocent Israeli civilians, but did not confront the Israelis on the decades of occupation, historical injustice and disproportionate response against Palestine. He was severely criticised by opposition leaders in India, the West Asian Media, and Israeli human rights activists.

"He acted and spoke like the leader of a minor state visiting a global power, desperate to curry favour. It should come as no surprise if images from the visit are later featured prominently in Netanyahu’s election campaign," wrote Israeli human rights activist Eitay Mack. Jairam Ramesh pointed out that ahead of Einstein's death, he wrote a letter to Jawaharlal Nehru on June 13, 1947.

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"I have paid a good deal of attention to this problem of Palestine and have read books and pamphlets on the subject issued on either side; yet I cannot say that I know all about it, or that I am competent to pass a final opinion as to what should be done. I know that the Jews have done a wonderful piece of work in Palestine and have raised the standards of the people there, but one question troubles me. After all these remarkable achievements, why have they failed to gain the goodwill of the Arabs? Why do they want to compel the Arabs to submit against their will to certain demands, Nehru asked.

“Unless men are big enough on either side, which is just and generally agreeable to the parties concerned, I see no effective solution for the present.” India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in his letter, pointed out that the way this conflict is heading is not towards “settlements” but towards “continuation”.

"He [Mack] has exposed the sham of the Prime Minister's much heralded [In the godi media] address to the Knesset yesterday that diminished India's moral standing," wrote Jairam Ramesh in his post.

Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes, killing at least 75,000 people in the Gaza Strip. It did not acknowledge UN authority, which has condemned the killing as "Genocide" and issued an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu; he should be arrested by international law if he ever sets foot in India. At this juntcure PM Modi's visit and his speech and omission of civilian casualty in Palestine is seen as a "moral cowardice" and “betrayal” of Gandhi's India. His statements like Israel is "Fatherland", and India is “Motherland” were mocked on social media. His framing that India stands "firmly, with full conviction" was seen by international media as the endorsement of the ongoing military operations.