‘Am Yisrael Chai’: 17-member Maharashtra delegation begins Israel visit from October 3

Jagdish Shetty, secretary, Indo-Israel Friendship Association. Pic/By Special Arrangement

AM Yisrael Chai means The people of Israel live. A 17-member delegation from Maharashtra from all walks of life will visit Israel from today (October 3 to October 9). This visit was planned much before Indian pilot Smit Machchhar thwarted a possible terror attack in which an airplane flying from Dubai to Israel (Tel Aviv) was going to be weaponised and crashed in a 9/11 attack style, according to reports. The other pilot on the craft was of Omani nationality. The aircraft had a majority of Israeli Jews as passengers. As Machchhar's heroics resonated everywhere, the time was to flex Israel-India friendship. "It is an apt time to fly to Israel," said Mumbai's Jagdish Shetty, part of the 17-member delegation.

The window

Shetty said, "We are visiting Israel on an invitation from the Israeli government, and I am the secretary of the Indo-Israel Friendship Association. We are going to visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, and sites like the Dead Sea, the Gaza Border, and Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Centre. We are going to interact with some leaders, but most of our learning, I believe, will come from the local Israelis. It is our on-the-ground experiences, ordinary people we meet on the roads, in the shops, at tourist sites, our guides, and cross-cultural conversations that will prove a true window to that country."

Massacre anniversary

Shetty also said the delegation, including activists and journalists too, will be taken to the Gaza border. "We will also be there during the third anniversary of the October 7, 2023, massacre. It has been three years since Hamas militants carried out a terror attack, killing nearly 1200 persons. It will be a sobering time to be in Israel. We are also going to be in Israel at the time of the elections, so that campaign will be very interesting, going beyond the regular tourist schedule."

Machchhar heroics

The delegation, Shetty said, is extremely proud of our Indian pilot's fightback, and the enormity of what has transpired and what he might have stopped is just dawning on us. "We will get a different perspective too, in Israel. With world leaders praising Capt. Smit Machchhar, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Indo-Israel friendship association is stronger than ever. "Am Yisrael Chai," concluded Shetty, with the sign-off phrase often used by Israelis and the Israeli diaspora making its way into the global lexicon. It means the people of Israel live, or the Nation of Israel lives.