Jewish Life Digital Edition October 2015 | Page 40

ISRAEL

IN CONTEXT

It’s not personal,

IT’S BUSINESS

Israel’s other friends I BY BEV GOLDMAN
“It is not the strongest of the species that
survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one
most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin

I TOYED WITH DECIDING WHICH OF THESE TWO
quotes to use for this piece – but in the
end I kept both, as both have relevance to
Israel’s place in the world of commerce.
It’s not a given to find a society as open
to constant change, growth and
development as Israel (I know I sound
biased, but I guess I am!), although my
gripe with the Darwin quote is the bit
about the “nor the most intelligent” – that
doesn’t apply to the country. And as for
the second, one need only take cognisance
of how so many of Israel’s innovations –
which have changed the world – have been
and still are being marginalised or rejected
simply because they come from Israel, by
so many, including South Africa, to realise
how true it is.
Israel is isolated; Israel is failing; Israel is
self-destructive; Israel is… whatever
pejoratives come to mind, from across the
globe. Yes, we all know them, we read them,
we are inundated with them in the media.
We “suffer the slings and arrows” aimed at
her – but why don’t we rather look on the
bright side – the good, better side?
If Israel’s trading partners did not
recognise the value the country offers
them, they would cease trading. A recently
published piece in The Economist1 said:

“After decades of focusing most of its
diplomatic and trade efforts on Europe
and America, Israel is pivoting to Asia. The
shift is not entirely new, but previously
low-profile diplomacy is now moving out
of the shadows. It is being pulled by the
rise of centre-right governments in India
and Japan, the weakening clout of Arab
oil-producing regimes and China’s
spending spree on hi-tech.”
The results of Israel’s new focus are
promising. Indian president Pranab
Mukherjee will make a state visit to Israel
in October, while PM Narendra Modi is
also expected to visit early next year – the
first visit of an Indian prime minister ever

WITH CHINA SO BIG AND ISRAEL SO SMALL,
WHAT POSSIBLE BENEFIT COULD THERE BE IN IT FOR
THE ASIAN GIANT?
36 JEWISH LIFE ■ ISSUE 89

to Israel. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP), which was returned to
power in May 2014, has always been more
favourably disposed towards Israel – a
natural ally against Muslim extremism –
than the left-leaning Congress Party. And
Modi, its charismatic leader, has been a
good friend of Israel.
The increasing closeness between
Jerusalem and New Delhi has, to a large
extent, come about because of defence ties
between the two countries, and the
acknowledgement that the bilateral
relations that have intensified since the
mid-1990s are beneficial to India.
According to Efraim Inbar, writing in
BESA Centre Perspective