Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister who is on his maiden visit to India, lashed out at ‘Radical Islam’ which is ‘challenging our way of life’. Netanyahu was speaking at the third edition of multilateral geopolitical conference Raisina Dialogue, where he called for an alliance of democracies and to strengthen the Indo-Israel ties.
Netanyahu said that in the democracies like India and Israel, our way of life is being challenged. He said that the quest for modernity and innovation is being challenged by radical Islam and its offshoots which could upset the international system. He suggested that to overcome this, one of the ways is to strengthen the ties between the two democracies.
Stressing upon the value of democracy, Netanyahu referred to India and Israel as natural friends. He said that the alliance of democracies is essential to secure the common future of the two countries.
Netanyahu said that after establishing military power and economic growth, Israel built the third power, that is political power. But he said that there is a fourth power which is the power of values and the most important of these is democracy. He said that the weak don’t survive, the strong do and one must hence, make tryst with the strong.
Referring to India’s growing economy, Netanyahu lauded the steps taken by Modi Government for ease of doing business. He further added that both India and Israel need to work towards cutting the bureaucracy.
While Israel has been tackling the turbulent relationship with the Islamic world over Palestine issue for decades, the ‘Radical Islam’ statement hit a chord with India, which has been facing cross border terrorism from Pakistan as well as terrorist attacks in Kashmir.