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Strategic Analysis:
A Monthly Journal of the IDSA
Indo-Israel Cooperation: Agriculture, Trade and Culture
By Farah Naaz
*
Ever since India established diplomatic relations with Israel in January 1992, the bilateral ties have evolved rapidly, covering the whole gamut of inter-state relations. Before this happened, there were several considerations which guided India to favour the Arabs in its foreign relations and, therefore, adopt an anti–Israeli attitude. India’s tilt towards the Arab countries was conditioned by its historical and cultural affinities, commercial interests in the region and to counter Pakistan’s anti–India policy which was seeking pan–Islamic solidarity with the Arab world.
There was gradual realisation on India’s part that normal diplomatic relations with Israel could be established. India’s pro-Arab policy was not reciprocated by the Arab countries. India also felt the need of establishing better relations with the United States which had emerged as the sole superpower after the collapse of the Soviet Union,in order to seek closer economic cooperation with it. India wanted to be involved in the Middle East peace talks and both the US and Israel had made it clear that this would be possible only when India established diplomatic ties with Israel. Moreover, relations with Israel had their own advantages so far as areas like agriculture, trade, science and technology were concerned. India and Israel could gain a lot from each other: there are many areas where India and Israel are cooperating such as agriculture, trade, and many where they are planning to cooperate.
Cooperation in Agriculture
Israel is a world leader in the full range of agro-technological accessories from irrigation equipment to genetically improved seeds. This has not been an easy path for Israel. The country achieved world–wide success by transforming itself from a small desert state, poor in water and arable land, into an exporter of over $1 billion in fresh and processed agricultural produce and $1.2 billion in agricultural inputs by 1995. 1 In 1996, Israel’s export of agro-technological inputs rose by 11 per cent to $1,419 billion. 2 Today, Israel is running high on the path of business oriented agricultural operations.
Israel went through four agricultural revolutions before achieving this stage. The first revolution was self-sufficiency. Israel’s agrotechnologists learnt how to overcome hurdles such as low rainfall, lack of fertile soil and scarcity of investment capital. During the second revolution, the Israeli agrotechnologists turned their attention to the export market and creating the technology to meet the demands for ever increasing produce yields. During the third revolution, technology itself took its place as a world market leader. In the fields of irrigation, greenhouse growing, planting and transplanting, poultry and dairy farming, spraying and in many other branches of agriculture, Israel developed and manufactured equipment that met the needs of farmers worldwide. The fourth revolution, a business approach to agricultural development, is a corollary of Israel’s world leadership in agricultural knowhow. 3
One of the earliest Israeli industrial innovations to reach international markets was the drip irrigation system, based on a concept pioneered in the 1890s by a researcher in California. In drip irrigation, water and nutrients are discharged directly to the area around the plant’s root systems, so that much smaller amounts can be used more efficiently. This also enables farmers to provide the precise amounts of water at the rate required by different crops. This system uses every drop of available water each year. Today, the system is computer controlled. 4
There had been remarkable growth in Israel’s flower exports. In 1996, the country’s farmers grew 1.35 billion flowers which earned $180 million, 95 per cent in overseas sales. Initial figures for 1997 indicate a 10 per cent increase in the number of flowers and a 7 per cent rise in revenue. 5 Israel places great emphasis on international cooperation, encompassing training, joint research projects, the transfer of knowhow and exchange of experts in a wide range of areas. Courses are held in Israel and abroad and model demonstration farms have been established in several countries. Projects which include demonstration farms are implemented with the assistance of Israeli experts in many parts of the world, including Asia, Africa and Latin America. Such examples are found in China, Kenya, Peru, Equador and the Central American countries.
Israel has recently initiated projects in desertification and development of arid zone agriculture in West Africa, India’s Rajasthan desert, the Gansu desert in China and the arid zones of northern Chile. 6
The establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel in 1992 gave an impetus to their agricultural cooperation. Since then, more than 60 joint venture agricultural projects were initiated in India in the fields of irrigation and water management, fertilisers, greenhouses, chemicals, pesticides and insecticides, tissue culture and horticulture, use of solar energy, animal husbandry and dairy development. Israel’s knowhow in aquaculture, educational software pertaining to these branches, and power and food industries were also included in the joint venture projects. 7 These joint ventures were entered into for the transfer of technology, marketing, distribution system as well as consultancy.
There have been a number of other achievements. Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres had said that Israel was more than eager to extend its cooperation to India in the technological and agricultural fields. 8 He also offered state-of-the-art technology to stimulate agricultural growth at competitive prices. 9 An agreement for cooperation in the field of agriculture was signed between the Governments of India and Israel in December 1993. 10
During President Ezer Weizman’s visit in December 1996, an Indo–Israel Research and Development Farm was inaugurated in the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) at Pusa in New Delhi. 11 The farm would demonstrate Israeli knowhow in high-tech agriculture, including soil water and crop management. It would also endeavour to find different techniques and methods of cultivation suitable for the diverse agro-climatic zones of India.
Another project initiated during President Weizman’s visit was a cotton demonstration farm in Akola in Maharashtra between the state government and AGRIDEV (Agricultural Development Company) 12 of Israel. 13 Other projects included the project between Punjab Agro-Industries Corporation and Ozcot company of Israel, and the Indo-Israel demonstration farm in the field of dairy development in Karnal. The proposed 100-cows dairy farm would be built with Israeli design, equipment and technology and would follow Israeli management practices. Also, the Israel Dairy Board and the Punjab government signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) in Israel to establish the “Modern Satellite Dairy Farm” in Punjab. 14
Tahal, the Israeli water management company is engaged in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu for wasteland development, irrigation and water and modern agriculture pilot projects. Israeli companies in the field of agriculture have provided turnkey projects for establishment of commercial tissue culture laboratories in India. 15
As a result of the MOU signed between the Governments of Maharashtra and Israel during Chief Minister Manohar Joshi’s visit to Israel in October 1996, a Rs 6.50 crore cotton demonstration project was inaugrated on 533 acres at Akola. The turnkey project between the Government of Maharashtra and AGRIDEV was expected to obtain seed cotton yields of 2,500 kg per hectare in the first year of operations, 3,500 kg per hectare in the second and 4,500 kg per hectare from the third year onwards.Income from sale of cotton will total Rs. 31.75 lakh per hectare by the third year. 16 As this crop is under drip irrigation, it could be seeded earlier as there would be no dependence on the erratic pattern of monsoon rains. Apart from cotton, it is also proposed to grow a second crop from January to May to fully exploit the irrigation system.
Israeli Projects in India 17
| Sector | Number of projects |
| Agro-projects (floriculture, tissue culture, seeds, etc.) | 60 |
| Irrigation System/Water Management | 18 |
| Software and Electronics | 16 |
| Chemicals and Paints | 8 |
| Telecommunications | 7 |
| Plastics | 4 |
| Knitwear and Textiles | 4 |
| Medical Diagnostics | 3 |
| Others | 15 |
The Agro-Advantage Maharashtra Exhibition that was inaugurated in Mumbai on November 6, 1998, gave a great boost to trade in agriculture between India (particularly Maharashtra) and Israel. Enthusiastic participation by the Israeli side was keenly observed. For example, a panel of Israeli firms from the agricultural sector participated in the Expo, with Walid Mansour, consul general of Israel in Mumbai, participating in the seminar and exhibition. Yaakov Tsur, former agriculture minister of Israel, spoke on the “ Relevance of Israeli Experience—Indian Context”. A clear and lucid picture of agriculture in Israel was presented by Amiram Zakay of ADAMIT Resources International of Israel who chaired one of the sessions in the seminar. (ADAMIT is a leading company specialising in packaging food products and vegetables for maintaining freshness.) The Israel Export Institute which is a nodal promotional organisation, co-sponsored by the Trade and Industry Ministry of Israel and private industries, was represented by Yitzhak Kariati. 18
A further impetus to these relations is expected in the Agritech '99 exhibition to be held in Haifa on September 5-9 91 where the leading agricultural experts from all over the world are expected to participate in order to do business.
Trade and Economy
Around the time that India and Israel established diplomatic relations, India globalised its economy and opened its doors for economic cooperation with the rest of the world. The trade and industry community of both the countries foresaw great potential for trade relations. Unprecedented opportunities flowed to these business communities, with the result that the two-way traffic of business people increased. Since 1992, the economic relations between the two countries have expanded enormously and the volume of bilateral trade has more than doubled, and increased from around $250 million in 1992 to over $650 million in 1997. 20
In the post-normalisation period, many delegations from both the countries visited each other in order to increase awareness and to explore the economic ties. Notable visitors from Israel were the ministers of external affairs, finance, industry and trade, telecom, agriculture, and delegations from the Manufacturers Association of Israel, Federation of Israeli Chamber of Commerce, Electronics Association of Israel, as well as several top ranking and leading companies. High level delegations from India included ministers of finance , commerce, agriculture and chief ministers of various states. The industrial associations that deputed their representatives were the Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and PHD Chamber of Commerce. During these visits, many important bilateral agreements were signed between the two governments. 21
The trade between the two countries was not so diversified and was mainly limited to two major items on each side. Rough diamonds and chemicals together constituted about 83 per cent of Israel’s exports to India. Diamonds alone were estimated to have constituted about 40 per cent of the total Israeli exports to India. 22 Meanwhile, polished diamonds and cotton yarn accounted for approximately 76 per cent of India’s exports to Israel. 23 However, the product range has been increasing and new products and services are being shared by the two countries.
Currently, India-Israel bilateral trade is around $500 million and India accounts for 10 per cent of Israeli exports to all of Asia, including the former Soviet Union. 24 During 1996,India’s exports to Israel were estimated at $250 million and Israel’s exports to India at $310 million, leaving a trade balance of $60 million in favour of Israel. 25
The other major exports from Israel are fertilisers, agro inputs, and medical equipment, whereas other exports from India are precious stones, tea, coffee, spices and handicrafts. Israel is also in a unique position of having free trade agreements with the European Union, the US and more recently with Canada and Turkey. This network of agreements would further help the Israeli exports to new markets.
Agrotechnology is an important Israeli export industry. The excellent results by the Israeli farmers in agriculture, horticulture and other agro–industries have fascinated the Indian farmers. The Agritech 1993 in Tel Aviv which was attended by about 600 Indian farmers, resulted in many agro–commercial associations developing in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and parts of Haryana. These are the relevant geographical regions for Israeli agrotechnologies such as drip irrigation, fertilisers and effective post-harvesting techniques and packaging systems. 26
Besides agrotechnology, other Israeli export industries like electronics and telecommunicatons are also expected to penetrate the Indian markets in the coming years.
The two governments have created a highly deal friendly environment for the development of business. Both the countries have accorded the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to each other, have signed treaties for avoidance of double taxation, bilateral investment protection, joint reseach and development in science and technology and standards cooperation. 27
The major areas of potential cooperation are electronics, agriculture, biotechnology, metals and chemicals. Other sectors where Indo-Israeli cooperation is possible is software, plastics, packaging, and textiles. There is also the beginning of a major Indian garments exporter setting up a manufacturing base in Israel for the export of readymade garments to the US and the European Economic Community (EEC). The Israeli companies are also contemplating investing in India for diagnostic centres, power generation, telecom and high value agricultural projects. All this would act as a catalyst for promoting further investments to mutual advantage.
The infrastructure for the development of trade and economic relations between the private and public sectors of both countries is in place. The bilateral relations have been lauded by Yehoyada Haim, ambassador of Israel to India. “The first five years of full diplomatic relations between India and Israel have been completed and I look with great satisfaction at the bilateral accomplishments achieved. Looking ahead, I see the network of economic and business contacts developing and diversifying, continuing forward dynamically.” 28
Cultural Cooperation
Cultural links between the two countries go back to the Forties when India and Israel emerged as independent nations. The founder of Israel, David Ben Gurion had immense regard for Mahatma Gandhi whom he regarded as the driving force behind India’s freedom. Israel’s fascination with Indian culture was also reflected in the naming of streets after Rabindra Nath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi in Tel Aviv. It was noticed that Jews in India were never persecuted and as a community lived harmoniously with others.
The famous Israeli violinist, Yehudi Menuhin, was chosen to receive the Jawaharlal Nehru award for international understanding in 1968. Likewise, an Israeli dance troupe “Imbal” was invited to perform in India in exchange for a prior visit to Israel by an Indian dancer, Shanta Rao and her troupe, in April 1958. During her visit, Shanta Rao had a private audience with David Ben Gurion, then prime minister of Israel. 29
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the people of India and Israel have come much closer. Multifarious cultural activities were undertaken by the Israeli consulate in Bombay, which included symposia, debates, lectures, exhibitions and literary concerts. Leading cultural performers and groups have travelled between Delhi and Jerusalem, Mumbai and Tel Aviv. These visits have covered nearly every sphere of culture: music, dance, art, academics, literature and much more. For instance, Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra visited India in 1994. From India, Zakir Hussain participated in the Israel festival in Jerusalem in 1996. 30 Other important Israeli activities in India included the screening of Israeli films, Israel’s first ever participation in the Delhi International Book Fair in 1996 and the Shalom India events.
From India’s side, activities included annual Indian participation in the Jerusalem film festival, the visit of Vikram Seth to the Jerusalem Poets’ Festival (1997) which included the publication of the Hebrew translation of his book A Suitable Boy, and the visit of Mallika Sarabhai along with her daughter. 31
The students of both countries are encouraged to visit each other countries. The bilateral scholarship programmes allow young Israelis to learn about dance, music and Sanskrit in India, while Indian students travel to Israel to study about West Asia, the Hebrew language and agriculture. In 1996, the Israel Cultural Centre was opened up in New Delhi. It included Hebrew classes, lectures and film shows, expansion of the department of East Asian Studies at Tel Aviv University, opening of similar programmes at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem which will allow many students to learn about the other countries. 32
On a governmental level, a Cultural Agreement was signed by the two countries in May 1993 during Shimon Peres’ visit. The treaty envisaged support for the sharing of the two cultures. Within the framework of this treaty, two detailed Cultural Exchange Programmes (CEP) have been signed and implemented. The second CEP was signed during the visit of President Ezer Weizman to India in late December 1996. It included further plans for cultural exchange. 33
The Jews in India
Most of the Indian Jews live in Bombay, India’s commercial centre, where they are engaged in business and trade. Over the years, many of them have left for Israel under the Return Home Policy. In India, there are three types of Jewish communities: the Bene Israel, the Cochin Jews, and the Baghdadi Jews.
The Bene Israel
The Bene Israel have always been the largest of the three communities in India. In 1838, the total Bene Israel population in India was estimated at 8,000 far more than the combined number of Cochin and Baghdadi Jews. 34 For generations they lived in rural villages throughout the Kolaba district of Maharashtra state. They worked in sesame oil pressing, farmed their land, peddled produce, and worked as skilled carpenters.As the Bene Israel families were scattered among many villages, community life in Kolaba district was extremely limited and the Jewish rituals too took place at home.
In 1674, the British East India Company moved its headquarters to Bombay. 35 By the mid-18th century, Bombay had developed into a metropolis attracting thousands of Indians, including the Bene Israel. They were tempted by the opportunities for employment and education and also to be enlisted in the British military services.
During the 19th century, the Bene Israel families also settled in Pune, Ahmedabad, Karachi, Delhi and other Indian cities. Two main factors contributed to the community’s dispersal thrughout the Indian subcontinent. During the British period, educated Bene Israel were favoured for civil service positions and police services. All these vocations tended to involve permanent or temporary postings far from Bene Israel centres.
On the social level, relations between the Bene Israel and their Muslim and Hindu neighbours were friendly throughout the region, and each respected the religious practices of the other.
At the end of the 1940s, with India’s total population at 350 million, the Bene Israel population in India was estimated at 24,000 to 25,000. 36 After 1948, many members of the community began emigrating, mainly from the cities, to the new state of Israel. Large scale emigration from the villages did not occur until the early 1970s. Since then, the total number of Bene Israel remaining in India remained fairly stable at around 5,000. In Israel, the Bene Israel population was estimated at 40,000 as of 1994. 37
Cochin Jews of Kerela
The Cochin Jews lived for two millenia on the fertile Malabar coast of south-west India. This tropical area is now the modern state of Kerala. This place attracted traders from the east and the west and Jews, Syrian Christians, and Muslims from the Middle East came to South India as merchants. There were once thousands of Jews in Malabar, but no more than 2,500 were recorded in recent centuries and only about 60 remain here today.
The oldest documentary evidence of a Jewish community in Kerala dates from 1000 CE (Christian Era) when a Jewish leader named Joseph Rabban recieved a set of copper plates from the Hindu ruler of Cranganore. 38 It is clear that by this time the Jews were firmly established in the area. They, however, departed and dispersed due to various reasons such as floods.
New migration of Jews started in the early 16th century. Some of the newcomers were Sephardim Jews (refugees from the Spanish and Portuguese expulsions, others were from Iraq, Persia, Yemen and Germany.) The term Cochin Jews was eventually applied to all Kerala Jews.These Jewish newcomers built a synagogue of their own. They adopted the Malayalam language and identified themselves with the Kerala customs and traditions. The Cochin Jews’ internal social relationships were influenced by the caste system and Hindu social values, but the Cochin Jews themselves were not divided into separate castes and all of them shared a common culture.
During the British colonial rule there was economic stagnation and many Cochin Jews moved to Calcutta and Bombay but they retained their Kerala identity. In the beginning of the early 19th century, the educated Cochin Jews even served as the teachers of Bene Israel and Baghdadi Jews. The immigration (aliyah) of Cochin Jews to Israel began in the early 1950s, but most members immigrated during the 1970s and 1980s. Today, there are over 4,000 Cochin Jews in Israel. 39
Baghdadi Jews
Many Jews from Basra and Baghdad who played an important role in English commerce in the region, moved on to India. At first they settled in the west coast port of Surat. By the end of the 18th century, about 100 Jews from Aleppo, Baghdad and Basra made up the Arabic speaking Jewish merchant colony of Surat. The term “Baghdadi” referred to Jews who came from the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, for centuries a centre of Jewish learning and culture. The name soon came to include Jews from Syria and other parts of the Ottoman Empire, Aden and Yemen, who were all Arabic speaking and even Jews from Persia and Afghanistan. 40 Baghdadi Jews often referred to themselves as Sephardim, an allusion to their liturgical tradition. 41 As the British Presidencies of Bombay and Calcutta developed, the Jewish merchants moved to these fast growing commercial centres and prospered due to the encouragement given by the British.
The Baghdadi Jewish community in Bombay dates back to about 1730. A century later, there were perhaps twenty to thirty families of Arabic speaking Jews among the total Jewish population of 2,246 in Bombay. 42 The economic, social, educational and religious history of the Baghdadi Jews revolved around the Sassoon family. David Sassoon who arrived in Bombay in 1833, founded a great commercial dynasty and merchant house. He also contributed enormously to the development of the city of Bombay. The Sassoons eventually established an economic empire with centres in Bombay, Calcutta, Rangoon, Hong Kong and elsewhere. In order to seek employment in the firm of David Sassoon and Company, Jews from all over the Ottoman Empire came to India.
Calcutta became the second largest centre of Baghdadi Jews settlement. The merchant elite that dominated the community life in both Bombay and Calcutta consisted of fewer than forty families out of about 5,000. The rest were shopkeepers, artisans, brokers, etc. As a rule, Baghdadi Jews confined themselve to trade, finance and industry and only a few entered the professions. Intellectual activity in Calcutta revolved around the Hebrew presses which published religious, historical and literary works. The Baghdadi Jews remained aloof from Zionism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They maintained a very strong sense of community and perpetuated most of the Iraqi Jewish traditions they had brought with them.
Although most Baghdadi Jews had little interest in Indian politics, they were active in public affairs. In Calcutta, members of the community were named as honorary magistrates. They were appointed sherifs and also served as municipal councillors. In Bombay, they were even appointed as members of the Legislative Council and Municipal Corporation.
Racial separation between Indians and British which was fostered by the colonial pattern also affected the attitudes of the Baghdadis towards indigenous Indians. The Baghdadis wished to be assimilated into the British society and be considered Europeans. Aside from religious observances, they quickly adopted an English lifestyle.
Indian independence was not welcomed by most Baghdadis. Having always aspired to assimilate with the Europeans in India, they were not supportive of the Indian nationalism. After 1947, new economic regulations enacted by the Indian government restricted imports and controlled foreign exchange, seriously hampering the business of many wealthy Baghdadis. As a result, members of the upper classes migrated to countries such as the US and England. The less affluent also departed to the West with a small percentage going to Israel. As the community disintegrated, more left the country. Of what had once been a community of perhaps 5,000 Baghdadis, barely 200 remained in the mid-1990s. The Baghdadis who immigrated to Israel did not tend to maintain their own communal identity and merged with the much larger Jewish community that had come directly from Iraq.
Cooperation in Tourism
Before the normalisaton of relations, the tourist traffic from the Indian side was very low. Till the resumption of diplomatic relations in early 1992, only about 3,000-4,000 visas had been issued to the Indian travellers to visit Israel which included pilgrims, businessmen, tourists and those visiting their relatives. 43 India was hesitant to allow full-fledged cultural exchanges as it did not want to antagonise the Muslim population of India and its Arab friends. However, the post-normalisation period saw cooperation in tourism too. An agreement for cooperation in the tourism sector was also signed during Peres’ visit to India in May 1993. Various tourism promotion activities also took place in this sector. The number of Israeli tourists visiting India has increased steadily and in 1995, over 22,000 Israelis visited India. 44 However, tourism from India is still limited and mainly restricted to pilgrims visiting Jerusalem.
Conclusion
The cooperation between India and Israel in areas such as the economy and agriculture started off with the simple exchange of commodities which is now growing rapidly, covering trade, technology transfer as well as investments into industry. Considering the fact that the two economies are complementary to each other, coupled with an investor friendly environment, the future of trade relations looks bright.
India’s liberalisation policies and globalisation strategies make Israel well positioned to fulfil the economic and technical demands of India’s rapidly developing economy. Israel’s achievments in agricultural technologies as well as better industrial knowhow, combined with India’s large pool of scientific and technical personnel, create a bigger scope for cooperation. Moreover, in India, Israeli technology is preferred to European technology on account of almost similar geographical conditions. Judging by the number of visits by the business people of India and Israel to each other’s country, the scope for cooperation is widening.
In the spheres of culture and tourism also, both countries are showing an encouraging response to each other and are seen to be making efforts to come closer. It is important that both countries should be able to appreciate each other’s culture which is possible only when there is people-to-people contact. This requires giving a boost to the tourism sector as well. This is also going to benefit the academic community as well as the larger society in learning not only about each other’s culture but also about various other fields, including science and technology, electronics, agriculture, trade and industry.
Both countries have a distinct mutuality of interests in myriad dimensions. Though the base of cooperation in various sectors has been expanding over the years, it needs to be consolidated further. Given all this, the future is bound to unfold in a manner that would benefit both.
Endnotes
*: Associate Fellow, The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). Back.
Note 1: “Agrotechnology in Israel”, Israel Today, vol. 4 no. 3, May–June 1998, p. 12. Back.
Note 2: “Farming as a Science”, Ibid., p. 14. Back.
Note 3: “Agrotechnology in Israel”, Ibid., p.12. Back.
Note 4: “Science and Technology in Israel”, Ibid., p.21. Back.
Note 5: “Flowering Exports”, Israel Today, vol. 4, no. 4, July–August 1998, p. 19. Back.
Note 6: “International Cooperation”, Israel Today, vol. 5 no. 1, January–February 1999, p. 25. Back.
Note 7: “Indo-Israel Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture”, Israel Today, vol. 3, no. 5, September–October 1997, p.13. Back.
Note 8: Times of India, March 2, 1993. Back.
Note 9: Times of India, March 5, 1993. Back.
Note 10: “Indo-Israel Main Bilateral Agreements”, in n. 7, p. 11. Back.
Note 11: n. 7, Ibid., p. 13. Back.
Note 12: AGRIDEV (Agricultural Development Company) is a government owned company, under the auspices of the Ministery of Agriculture whose function is to transfer agricutural technology and knowhow. Agridev operates on a commercial basis, providing professional and technical services to both public and private sectors of client countries. Agridev services cover the following: feasibility studies, planning implementation,technical supervision, etc. Agridev applies the latest technology developed by the advanced Israeli agricultural and agro-industrial sector, and also the vast experience acquired in other countries. Back.
Note 16: “Project Akola Inaugurated”, Israel Today, vol. 3, no. 4, July–August 1997, p. 6. Back.
Note 17: “Land of Opportunities”, Ibid., p. 5. Back.
Note 18: “Israel at the Agri Expo”, Israel Today, vol. 4, no. 6, November-December 1998, p. 22. Back.
Note 19: “The Agritech 1999 Exhibition in Haifa”, n. 6, p. 16. Back.
Note 20: “Messages”, n. 18, p. 30. Back.
Note 21: “Indo-Israel Economic Cooperation”, n. 7, p. 14. Back.
Note 22: “Land of Opportunities”, n. 16, p. 4. Back.
Note 23: “India-Israel Relations”, n. 7, p. 9. Back.
Note 24: “Land of Opportunities”, n. 16, p.4. Back.
Note 25: “India-Israel Relations”, n.7, p. 9. Back.
Note 26: “Land of Opportunities” n. 16, p. 5. Back.
Note 27: “Indo-Israel Trade”, n.7, p. 12. Back.
Note 28: “Admiration and Respect”, n.16, p. 3. Back.
Note 29: Cited in Maqsudul Hasan Nuri, “The Indo–Israeli Nexus”, Regional Studies, vol. 12, no. 3, Summer 1994, p. 3. Back.
Note 30: “Indo–Israel Cultural Cooperation”, n. 7, p. 19. Back.
Note 34: Shirley Berry Isenberg, “The Bene Israel”, in Opra Slapak,ed., The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities (Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, 1995) p. 17. Back.
Note 38: Barbara C. Johnson, “The Cochin Jews of Kerela”, in Ibid., p. 27. Back.
Note 39: Ibid., pp. 33-35. Back.
Note 40: Joan G. Roland, “The Baghdadi Jews”, in Ibid., p. 37. Back.
Note 43: Cited in Nuri, n. 29, p. 22. Back.
Note 44: “India Israel Relations”, UNI Backgrounder, undated (New Delhi: United News of India). Back.