Kenneth Bialkin, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, has called on Prime Minister Rajev Gandhi of India to change his country’s “policy and attitude” toward Israel.
“Indian hostility toward Israel and her people has caused the American Jewish community great consternation in recent years, “Bialkin wrote in a letter to Gandhi last month and just released by the Presidents Conference to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “On numerous occasions the Indian government has discriminated against Israeli citizens — athletes, scientists, jurists and others — by denying them permission” to enter India to participate in various international events.
This discrimination, Bialkin stated, “together with India’s unceasing condemnations of Israel at the United Nations and within the nonaligned movement, and its one-sided identification with the Arab and PLO cause, have undermined … India’s ability to assume an honest and constructive role in Middle East peacemaking.
“India’s hostility toward a vibrant sister democracy and a staunch American ally has affected the attitudes of many in this country who would like to identify more with Indian causes and concerns.”
Bialkin urged that under its new Prime Minister, India “assume a fairer, more even-handed approach to the Middle East conflict — on approach that will allow India … to play an active and effective part in encouraging the Arab world to negotiate directly with Israel and seek a peaceful solution for this troubled region.”
Bialkin said he has not yet received a reply to his letter.
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