Congress Criticises Modi’s Knesset Speech, Cites Nehru’s 1947 Letter To Einstein On Israel

The Indian National Congress on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his speech to the Israeli Parliament, calling it an "unabashed defence of his host" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The opposition party also referred to India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his July 1947 response to a letter from Albert Einstein regarding the creation of Israel.

Speaking at the Knesset on Wednesday, Modi described the Gaza Peace Initiative as a route to "just and durable peace" in the region.

He expressed solidarity with Israel, stating that "terrorism anywhere threatens peace everywhere." "I also carry with me the deepest condolences of the people of India for every life lost and for every family whose world was shattered in the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 (2023)," Modi said.

"We feel your pain. We share your grief. India stands with Israel, firmly, with full conviction, in this moment, and beyond. No cause can justify the murder of civilians. Nothing can justify terrorism," he said. Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, criticised the speech.

"In his address to the Knesset yesterday — which was an unabashed defence of his host — Prime Minister Modi drew attention to the fact that India recognised the new state of Israel on the day he was born," he said.

Ramesh then referred to Nehru’s perspective on the establishment of Israel as expressed in his letter to Einstein.

"Here is Nehru's reply to Einstein a month later. On November 5, 1949, the two had met at Einstein's home in Princeton. In November 1952, Einstein was offered the Presidency of Israel which he declined," Ramesh recalled.

"And a short while before he passed away in April 1955, Einstein and Nehru had exchanged letters on the issue of nuclear explosions and weapons," he added.

In his reply dated July 11, 1947, Nehru wrote, Ramesh shared, "I confess that while I have a very great deal of sympathy for the Jews, I feel sympathy for the Arabs also in their predicament. In any event, the whole issue has become one of high emotion and deep passion on both sides." India’s first prime minister added, "Unless men are big enough on either side, which is just and generally agreeable to the parties concerned, I see no effective solution for the present.

"I have paid a good deal of attention to this problem of Palestine and have read books and pamphlets on the subject issued on either side; yet I cannot say that I know all about it, or that I am competent to pass a final opinion as to what should be done. I know that the Jews have done a wonderful piece of work in Palestine and have raised the standards of the people there, but one question troubles me. After all these remarkable achievements, why have they failed to gain the goodwill of the Arabs? "Why do they want to compel the Arabs to submit against their will to certain demands? The way of approach has been one which does not lead to a settlement, but rather to the continuation of the conflict. I have no doubt that the fault is not confined to one party but that all have erred." The principal challenge, Nehru observed, was the continuation of British rule in Palestine.