To some ears, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ending his landmark speech to the Knesset on Wednesday with the words “Am Yisrael Chai” might have sounded unspectacular.
A foreign leader seeking to win the good graces of his hosts by repeating, in their native tongue, a phrase laden with meaning for the locals.
But those ears would have missed the larger historical resonance.
India’s founding father, Mahatma Gandhi – who leaned firmly against Zionism – would likely have squirmed; his successor, Jawaharlal Nehru, whose government kept Israel at arm’s length for decades, might well have winced.
Yet there stood the leader of the world’s most populous country, breaking with the instincts of his nation’s founders and declaring that the people of Israel live.
To understand the magnitude of Modi’s words, it is necessary to briefly revisit where India once stood.
In the early decades of the 20th century, the Indian National Congress’s position on Israel was largely shaped by domestic politics.
Gandhi’s opposition to Zionism and sympathy for the Arab cause were largely influenced by his desire to maintain unity with India’s Muslim leaders in the struggle against British rule. Nehru carried that legacy into India’s early foreign policy, opposing the 1947 UN partition plan and keeping Israel diplomatically distant to avoid alienating Arab states and to remain sensitive to Muslim sentiment at home.
That posture defined India’s approach for decades. India recognized Israel in 1950 – Modi told the Knesset this happened on the day he was born – but full diplomatic ties were deferred until 1992. Sympathy for the Palestinian cause became a central tenet of Indian foreign policy.
What unfolded in the Knesset on Wednesday marked something altogether different.
Modi invoked the Indus Valley and the Jordan Valley. He spoke of tikkun olam, the Hebrew term for repairing the world, and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, an ancient Sanskrit phrase meaning, “The World is One Family. He placed Hanukkah and Purim alongside the Hindu festivals of Diwali and Holi.
This was not about commerce and cooperation alone; it was the alignment of two ancient civilizations. But the most consequential part of his address came not in the civilizational references, but in the moral clarity.
“I carry with me the deepest condolences of the people of India,” he said, “for every life lost, and for every family whose world was shattered in the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7.”
“With a heavy heart, we share your grief.”
“India stands with Israel – firmly, with full conviction – in this moment and beyond.”
Modi refuses to equivocate on Hamas terrorism
And then came the line that distinguished his speech from the post-October 7 massacre refrain – voiced in some European capitals and stated explicitly by UN Secretary-General António Guterres – that the attacks “did not happen in a vacuum.” He said: “No cause can justify the murder of civilians. Nothing can justify terrorism.”
No equivocation. No contextualization. No “on the one hand.” No reference to “root causes.” No “balancing” intended to dilute the condemnation.
India’s policy of zero tolerance for terrorism is “with no double standards,” he said, emphasizing the point further. He was perfectly clear: Murder of civilians is unjustifiable – period.
This has been Modi’s – and India’s – position since the very beginning, and it did not go unnoticed in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his welcoming remarks, made this position the centerpiece of his own speech.
“Immediately after the terrible massacre of October 7 – immediately after that murderous attack – you stood clearly, morally, firmly with Israel,” he said. “You did not flinch. You did not waver. You did not give excuses. You stood next to Israel. You stood by Israel. You stood for Israel. You stood for the truth.”
Many governments offered sympathy immediately after the attack. Some recalibrated within weeks. Others grew more critical as the war unfolded. Modi, Netanyahu made clear, remained steady.
And that steadiness reflects where the relationship between the two countries now stands.
During Modi’s first visit to Israel in 2017 – a visit that itself shattered precedent, as he was the first Indian prime minister to visit the country – he delivered five public speeches. Not once did he mention the Palestinians. That was deliberate, as he was decoupling India’s relations with Israel from its relations with the Palestinians.
He did mention the Palestinians in his speech to the Knesset on Wednesday, but only in the context of supporting the Gaza peace framework brokered by the US.
He did not, however, adopt the vocabulary of accusation, as the leader of India’s main opposition party wanted him to.
Ahead of his visit, Congress Party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra publicly urged him to mention what she called the “genocide in Gaza” and to demand “justice.” Modi did nothing of the kind.
Instead, he spoke of partnership, shared values, shared grief, and a shared struggle against terrorism. His speech represented a strategic and moral choice to align openly with Israel as a partner in confronting radical violence.
Opposition members walk out on Knesset Speaker
Even the chaotic opening moments in the Knesset did not throw him off-kilter.
In a bizarre scene, the opposition walked out during Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana’s opening remarks, protesting his decision not to invite Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit to this special Knesset session. Former MKs were ushered in to prevent the chamber from appearing half-empty.
As the opposition MKs left, those MKs who remained – in an apparent effort to dilute the embarrassment of the moment – stood and chanted, “Modi, Modi.”
After Ohana and Netanyahu spoke, before Modi gave his address, the opposition returned to their seats to complete this episode of musical chairs.
Yet Modi navigated it with grace. He acknowledged opposition leader Yair Lapid respectfully, even though Lapid had been central to the protest. He treated the Knesset as a whole – coalition and opposition alike – as the representative body of a fellow democracy.
For Gandhi and Nehru, Zionism was a complication in the anti-colonial struggle and the postcolonial balancing act. For Modi, Israel is a sister democracy in a challenging region and a partner in shaping the 21st century – technologically, economically, and morally.
When he concluded his speech with “Am Yisrael Chai,” followed by the Hindi salutation “Jai Hind” (Long live India), he was not merely borrowing a slogan; he was placing Israel’s endurance within a shared narrative with his own country.
It was not a slogan for applause, but a significant sign of how far this relationship has travelled – especially since he became prime minister 12 years ago.