Israel Remembrance Day: Indian Ambassador JP Singh Honours Fallen Indian Jewish Soldiers

Sharing the details in a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv noted that the event was organised by the National Federation of Indian Jews and was attended by the community members and families of the fallen soldiers.

"Amb Singh highlighted the invaluable contribution of the Indian Jewish community to Israel's progress and development, and their role as a strong bridge between India and Israel", the post said.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, marking 78 years since the establishment of Israel, Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar on Thursday highlighted the "special and unique" relationship between India and Israel and how it is rooted in six shared values, including civilisational resilience, democracy, counter-terror cooperation, innovation, tolerance and inclusive development.

Describing the six pillars of partnership between the two countries, he said, "The first is the civilizational resilience and national revival. For centuries, our civilizations were attacked by foreign powers, our identity was targeted, and there was throughout history an effort try to strip us from our identity. But despite the ordeal that we had to pass in more than a millennium, we survived, our identity survived. This is what we have in common".

He noted that the second pillar is the fight against terrorism.

"We are facing a wave of extremism around the world, especially coming from radical Islam that is threatening our country, is threatening the existence of our country. We have worked together for decades now to develop the means that we need to cope with that threat", the envoy said.

He highlighted how the third pillar is the shared democratic values that exists strongly within the systems of both countries.

Ambassador Azar noted innovation and competitiveness as the fourth pillar and underlined that Israel and India have been a source of innovation.

"Together we are working in order to make a more competitive environment that will allow us to become stronger and more prosperous".

Noting the fifth pillar as tolerance and spiritual heritage, he lauded how Jews have felt very comfortable in India for millennia and that there was never anti-Semitism in India.

Calling sustained but inclusive development as the final pillar, the Israeli envoy highlighted how inclusion and accessibility are integral values focussed upon by both the countries.

He said that the six pillars make the relationship special because it denotes common values and interests.

- ANI