India-Israel Maitri Project kicks off with visit of influencers from India

Jerusalem: Non-governmental organisation Sharaka brought this week the first delegation of intellectuals, influencers, professionals, and academics from India to Israel under its flagship programme 'India-Israel Maitri Project' (IIMP) to promote awareness and understanding through Holocaust education and exposure to the Israeli society.

“We are honoured to host this Indian delegation. The delegates represent the great diversity and talents of a rising Indian civilisation. There is enormous untapped potential in Israel-India relations, and the knowledge and experiences that they will gain on this visit will lay the foundations for the future of our relations for many years to come,” Amit Deri, chairman and co-founder of Sharaka, said at the start of the visit on India's Republic Day.

“We are excited to host this senior delegation in Israel of Muslim, Hindu, and Christian leaders from India. Although Indians have a general affinity to Israel and vice versa, our societies are not deeply familiar with each other and this presents an opportunity to build on this relationship with the largest democracy, home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the world,” Dan Feferman, Executive Director of Sharaka, said.

During their six-day visit concluding on January 31, the delegation visited the historic holy sites of Jerusalem, met experts and diverse community leaders, held dialogues with Israeli Arabs and connected with local academics and public policy intellectuals.

They also toured the sites impacted by the October 7, 2023 attack carried out by Hamas on Israel, which left around 1200 people dead and 251 others were taken as hostages, to get a sense of the current war and geopolitical picture.

Their visit included a seminar at Yad VaShem (also referred to as The Holocaust Museum) where participants engaged in discussions on the Holocaust, extremism, genocides in modern history, and how to promote coexistence in societies.

The group also attended a Sharaka event in commemoration of 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz with Holocaust survivor Rena Quint.

“During this extraordinary visit, an intense and enlightening immersion I would call it, we learned so much not only about Israel or its current conflict with its enemies such as Hamas, but about the almost limitless possibilities of Indo-Israeli friendship and cooperation", Dr Makarand R. Paranjape, noted author, educator, and influencer, told PTI at the conclusion of the visit.

The Indian delegation is visiting Israel at a time when there is a visible spike in anti-Israel sentiments in many parts of South Asia because of the war in Gaza.

"For me, coming to Israel was eye-opening in so many ways. I went to the Nova festival site and the Nir Oz Kibbutz where Hamas terrorists killed and took hostage hundreds of innocent Israelis. I have never seen terror and its consequences so closely. As a Muslim, I feel ashamed that it is happening in the name of our religion. Saying that terror has no religion and disowning these terrorists won’t work," Subuhi Khan, a Supreme Court lawyer and founder and national convenor of Rashtra Jagran Abhiyan, told PTI.

"We, as muslim community, must take full responsibility and hold ourselves accountable that these are our kids who are being radicalised and made into monsters. The Muslim society is failing as a community to address the problem of radicalism in the name of our religion. We must stand together and do something to show the right path to our future generations", Khan stressed.

The delegation met many family members of people who have either been killed or been taken hostages in Israel and Khan expressed dismay on hearing from them that they "still don’t hate Islam" and "have many Muslim friends".

"A beautiful lady named Efrat said, 'It doesn’t matter what you believe in, as long as you believe in good,'" she pointed out.

Among others the delegation included, Yusuf Taher Unjhawala, a researcher at Takshashila Institute, Swapan Dasgupta, former Rajya Sabha MP and a member of the BJP National Executive, Arif Hussain Theruvath Mohammad, a medical professional, decorated army veterans, Lt Gen Satish Kumar Dua and Rajendra Ramrao Nimbhorkar, authors, Omer Ghazi and Sifra Lentin, and journalists Snehesh Alex phillip, Neha Khanna and Devang Bhanushankar Bhatt.

The programme is assisted by the conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is sponsored by the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" and supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance.

The inspiration for the programme is said to have come from Sharaka's many years of work in people-to-people diplomatic initiatives in the Arab world since the inception of the Abraham Accords, a press release from the NGO said.

"Given its phenomenal success in enhancing ties of friendship with citizens of Arab nations across the Gulf and North Africa, Sharaka is now expanding its engagement to South Asian countries like India. The goodwill and awareness generated by these initiatives serve to strengthen bonds of friendship between people and enhance understanding and empathy between them", it added.

Sharaka, which means “partnership” in Arabic, is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation established by social entrepreneurs from the Arab world and Israel to promote peace.