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Delegations of prominent New York Jewish organizations met with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee last week, and spoke of the urgent need for the democracies of India, the United States and Israel to come together, especially in the context of fighting terrorism.
The organizations which met with Vajpayee at the New York Palace Hotel on Sept. 12 were Bnai Brith International, the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee. The 21-member Jewish delegation met with the prime minister at 6.25 p.m., and the meeting ended around 7.20 p.m.
After the meeting, David J. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, told News India-Times, The main issues discussed were the relationship between India and the United States, and the meeting of Vajpayee with U.S. President George W. Bush. We also spoke about the blossoming of relations between India and Israel. We spoke about the common thread of terrorism that the democracies of India, Israel and the United States face. We also spoke about the intensifying cooperation in the United Stated between the Indo-American community and the American-Jewish community.
According to Harris, Vajpayee, who gave them a patient hearing, spoke very forcefully on the issue of terrorism and the concern in India about the daily threat of terrorism.
He also offered his thoughts on Kashmir and the recent violence in Gujarat. He spoke about the desire for still further cooperation between American-Jewish organizations and Indian-American organizations and indicated that the Indian-American community in the United States is still quite new and, therefore, has much to learn from the American-Jewish community, said Harris.
He spoke about his friendship with Israel and the fact that even as a member of the opposition, he was in favor of relations between India and Israel at a time when there were no relations between the two countries.
Cheryl Halpern, chairperson of the Bnai Brith International United Nations Committee, said, We spoke about the need to promote better understanding between the Indian community in the United States and the Jewish community; that there should be much greater integration between us because we are so similar. The pillars of our communities really reflect faith, family and generosity.
Daniel S. Mariaschin, executive vice president of Bnai Brith International, said, The relationship between the Jewish community in the United States and the Indo-American community has really become much closer over the past few years.
We have a lot in common as communities in this country. We are two immigrant communities, who place a high value on education, hard work and close families. And there is also a commonality of interests in terms of the issues of the day. We spoke about how we can work closely on issues on our mutual agendas, said Mariaschin.
Nirupama Rao, spokesperson for the Indian Foreign Ministry, told News India-Times that Vajpayee also told the members of the delegation that India is one of the few countries in the world where there is no anti-Semitism. He also noted that there are 60,000 Jews of Indian origin in Israel.
The organizations which met with Vajpayee at the New York Palace Hotel on Sept. 12 were Bnai Brith International, the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee. The 21-member Jewish delegation met with the prime minister at 6.25 p.m., and the meeting ended around 7.20 p.m.
After the meeting, David J. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, told News India-Times, The main issues discussed were the relationship between India and the United States, and the meeting of Vajpayee with U.S. President George W. Bush. We also spoke about the blossoming of relations between India and Israel. We spoke about the common thread of terrorism that the democracies of India, Israel and the United States face. We also spoke about the intensifying cooperation in the United Stated between the Indo-American community and the American-Jewish community.
According to Harris, Vajpayee, who gave them a patient hearing, spoke very forcefully on the issue of terrorism and the concern in India about the daily threat of terrorism.
He also offered his thoughts on Kashmir and the recent violence in Gujarat. He spoke about the desire for still further cooperation between American-Jewish organizations and Indian-American organizations and indicated that the Indian-American community in the United States is still quite new and, therefore, has much to learn from the American-Jewish community, said Harris.
He spoke about his friendship with Israel and the fact that even as a member of the opposition, he was in favor of relations between India and Israel at a time when there were no relations between the two countries.
Cheryl Halpern, chairperson of the Bnai Brith International United Nations Committee, said, We spoke about the need to promote better understanding between the Indian community in the United States and the Jewish community; that there should be much greater integration between us because we are so similar. The pillars of our communities really reflect faith, family and generosity.
Daniel S. Mariaschin, executive vice president of Bnai Brith International, said, The relationship between the Jewish community in the United States and the Indo-American community has really become much closer over the past few years.
We have a lot in common as communities in this country. We are two immigrant communities, who place a high value on education, hard work and close families. And there is also a commonality of interests in terms of the issues of the day. We spoke about how we can work closely on issues on our mutual agendas, said Mariaschin.
Nirupama Rao, spokesperson for the Indian Foreign Ministry, told News India-Times that Vajpayee also told the members of the delegation that India is one of the few countries in the world where there is no anti-Semitism. He also noted that there are 60,000 Jews of Indian origin in Israel.