The Curious Timing Of PM Modi’s Israel Visit

Barely 48-hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his high-profile visit to Israel when he and Benjamin Netanyahu celebrated their personal chemistry and upgraded relations to a Special Strategic Partnership, the skies over the region lit up. Israel and the US launched a series of blistering air attacks on Tehran and cities across Iran in which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was killed. The timing has set Delhi’s drawing rooms and diplomatic circles buzzing. Coincidence, certainly. But in geopolitics, coincidence is the most gossiped-about word.

The Prime Minister’s visit was already under scrutiny, with critics arguing that standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel, increasingly isolated by much of the Global South over the devastation in Gaza, was not expected from India. South Africa, a leading member of the Global South with a history of fighting the apartheid regime that had dragged Israel to the International Criminal Court of Justice, has distanced itself from the Netanyahu government on charges of genocide. India, which claims to be a leader of the Global South, has a long history of supporting the Palestine cause. It was the first non-Arab country to recognise the PLO as the sole and legitimate representative of Palestinians in 1974 and recognising the Palestinian state in 1988. For the prime minister of India to visit Israel at this time, is seen as an indirect endorsement of Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi tweeted ahead of the PM’s visit:

``I hope that the Hon Prime Minister @narendramodi ji mentions the genocide of thousands of innocent men, women and children in Gaza while addressing the Knesset on his upcoming trip to Israel and demands justice for them. India has stood for what is right throughout our history as an independent nation, we must continue to show the light of truth, peace and justice to the world.”

Tongues are wagging, with both supporters and detractors taking to social media. Supporters framed it as strategic clarity, detractors called it moral myopia. Then came the bombs, and with them, a torrent of raised eyebrows. Some members of the Press team that had gone to Israel to cover the PM’s visit are stuck in Israel. Others who managed to catch an earlier flight out of the country are stuck in Dubai as the skies over the region are suspended.

No one is suggesting foreknowledge, of course. But for a leader often praised for his political timing, the optics this time are awkward. In a region where symbolism travels faster than missiles, the aftershocks remain.

Social media is filled with various interpretations about the PM’s visit.

Author and independent analyst from far away Australia Shanaka Anslem Perera tweeted, @shanaka86

``Nobody is talking about the most important variable in the strike timeline. It is not the deadline. It is not Geneva. It is not the carriers. It is Narendra Modi.’’ Writing in substack.com he said: `` Modi is visiting Israel because of the crisis. …Netanyahu needs to be able to say that the leader of the world's largest democracy was standing in the Knesset forty-eight hours earlier endorsing Israeli security partnerships.”

The opposition in India is having a field day criticising the government. The attack on Iran so soon after Modi’s visit has led Indians to gossip with a vengeance.