Congress attacks PM Modi's Israel visit: Attacks his address at NEST, cites Nehru-Einstein letter

The Congress party has reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset. They described it as an open defense of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Congress party stated that India's foreign policy approach has historically been balanced and multilateral, a reflection of the thoughts of the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

What did Modi say in his address?

In fact, while addressing the KNEST, PM Modi described the Gaza Peace Initiative as a path towards a just and lasting peace in the region and strongly condemned terrorism. Expressing condolences to the victims of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, he said that India stands firmly and with complete confidence in Israel and that no civilian killings or terrorism can be justified under any circumstances.

Conversation between Jawaharlal Nehru and Albert Einstein

Congress General Secretary (Communications in-charge) Jairam Ramesh strongly objected to the PM's statement. He said that in his address, the Prime Minister mentioned that India recognized Israel on his birthday, but he did not adequately mention India's historical and balanced foreign policy tradition.

Ramesh cited correspondence between Jawaharlal Nehru and Albert Einstein in this context. He explained that in his July 1947 reply to Einstein, Nehru acknowledged that he sympathized with the plight of both Jews and Arabs, and that the issue involved deep feelings on both sides. Nehru wrote that an effective solution was difficult unless both sides agreed to a comprehensive and acceptable solution.

Ramesh further explained that Nehru also stated in his letter that he had studied the Palestine question in depth but was in no position to offer a final opinion. While praising the achievements of the Jews, he also questioned why, despite such progress, they had failed to win the trust of the Arabs. He also stated that no single side could be solely blamed for the conflict, and that mistakes had been made by all sides. Nehru said that the main difficulty was the continued existence of British rule in Palestine.