Immigrants come out in support of Israel at congressional briefing

Washington, DC (ANI): Nissim Reuben, director of the Indian-Jewish Relations Program at the American Jewish Committee (AJC), said in a congressional briefing in support of Israel that India is the only country with no history of anti-Semitism. He also expressed solidarity with Israel in the fight against the terrorist group Hamas.

HinduAction and Namaste Shalom Multifaith Alliance hosted a timely briefing in Congress on Tuesday in support of Israel and against rising anti-Hindu bigotry and anti-Semitism in the United States and Canada.

“India is the only country in the world that does not have a history of anti-Semitism. Jews were never persecuted in India until the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which were carried out by terrorists from across the border. That is why even today in Israel he said, “Indian Jews say that Israel is our motherland. India is our motherland. Israel is in our hearts. India is in our blood.”

Furthermore, he expressed gratitude that the Indian American diaspora, the global Indian diaspora, the people of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India have solidly supported Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas.
“This was a brutal terrorist attack…Israel has gone through a tremendous tragedy, but it will overcome and recover. And we, as Indian Americans and Indians, will never forget that Israel came to India’s aid, helping her defend, a much-needed rescue.” “In the wars of 1965 and 1971 and, of course, in Kargil in 1999, when Israel supplied much-needed defense supplies.”
Reuben said this support shown to Israel will be repaid many times over.

Indian-American Astra Nomani said she is proud of Islam, which preaches peaceful co-existence, respect and humanity.
“I am the daughter of India. I am a Muslim daughter of India. And I have known freedom and happiness in India. What I have seen throughout my life in America is that a new extreme has emerged. And this comes from within my own Muslim community. And this is an extremism that denies women’s rights and makes a Jew an enemy simply for being a Jew, and it has now done a very unfortunate thing and demonized and defamed Hindus,” he said.

“That’s why I come here as a Muslim because I defend an Islam in which everyone can live with a sense of coexistence, dignity and humanity,” she said.

Emphasizing that this is the fight of our generation, he said: “We must win, I want to encourage everyone to move forward with moral courage and overcome any fears they may have You can feel in your heart that they will be embarrassed or demonized because if they stand strong in kindness and humanity, you will always be on the right side of history and that is why I am here today.
Meanwhile, Rajshree Keesham, who hails from Manipur’s Meitei community, said he was at the briefing to correct misinformation that the recent conflict in Manipur was not the result of religious differences.

“I am here to correct the misinformation or disinformation that the conflict that we have been witnessing in Manipur for the last six months is not a religious conflict. It has been very wrongly portrayed, that this is a fight between Hindus. Christians, where the majority Hindus persecute Christians. He said, “I have come here today just to explain that this is not at all the case.”
Richard Horowitz, a former Israeli military officer currently living in the United States, highlighted two central themes he addressed at the briefing.

“The first explosion was what happened in a Gaza hospital,” he said. Secondly, I talked about an aspect of international law. “About the inequity in the use of military power.”

“I am from the Meitei community,” said another Indian-American from Manipur.
He claimed that a section of the international media is portraying the Manipur clashes as if “Hindus are oppressing Christians, but the violence is the result of conflict between Meiteis and Kukis.”
He condemned the killing of civilians in Manipur and other parts of the world and said: “Hamas massacred civilians in Israel, just as innocent people lost their lives in Manipur.”