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Excellent analysis of a complex problem is this week's POTW for TimePass & Sports
Well done and congratulations to [MENTION=151251]ArendtFan[/MENTION] for this post
http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...relations-with-Israel&p=10484407#post10484407
Well done and congratulations to [MENTION=151251]ArendtFan[/MENTION] for this post
http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...relations-with-Israel&p=10484407#post10484407
Israel has a layered friendship system. Their evaluation of 'friends' is at 2 levels. One - civilisational support and two - tactical support. USA, India and China are the 3 nations that they consider 'civilisational supporters' - these countries have never in their history, marginalised or attacked Jews. All 3 nations have welcomed Jewish refugees, India and China doing so since Babylonian rule.
When the Nazi government took away passports of Jewish elites, the American ambassador shipped them out of Germany with American visas sans passports. As all of us know, these elites eventually became influential political lobbies and have garnered large scale Republican & Christian support for Israel in the US.
David Ben Gurion referred to India and China as great civilisations who will become great powers in the future. He made Albert Einstein write to Nehru to recognise the new state of Israel which India refused to do so for a long time. Israel has invested in Indian relations for decades, not just in technology and defence but also agriculture and tourism - India is the favourite getaway for Israeli soldiers after their mandatory military service. It has the reputation of a place of healing for veterans suffering from PTSD (Mcleodgunj)
Surprisingly, China and Israel never developed as close allies and one can put it down to a difference in temperament. China has a 'lone wolf' mindset whereas India has never shirked to seek support in areas that it was lacking. Case in point - India's space program and also the IITs. Also, India with its 200 million integrated Muslim population and good relations with Arab countries could be an effective lobbying power with the Arabs.
Pakistan, at best would come in as a 'tactical support friend' - there is great potential in that considering that Pakistan is the only nuclear armed Islamic state. There is also a possibility that Saudi Arabia is lobbying for Pakistan-Israel relations - if there is a war against Iran, the Saudis who already have Israeli 'support' thanks to the American lobby, would also want Pakistan to fall in line.
It is unfortunate because what Pakistan needs is support in technology, agriculture and infrastructure but it may not be feasible with Israeli support. Israel works best with countries that have existing systems and manpower in place (think engineers, an efficient bureaucracy and government commitment). They are not ones who will hand over a pile of cash a la the Saudis or export all services and material a la China.
Pakistan is suffering the effects of being a non-aligned nation during the Yemen talks. A seething UAE seems to have felicitated Modi just to make a point. It needs to be seen how long Pakistan can afford to be non-aligned. Unfortunately, we seem to be approaching an Arab vs Arab war and all stakeholders are clamouring to define Pakistan's role in that war.
