Several Indian diaspora members participated in a weekly pro-Israel rally at Toronto’s Bathurst and Sheppard Avenue on Sunday and mocked pro-Palestine demonstrations while holding tricolour and Israeli flags.
The rally which has been taken out every Sunday, October 15, 2023, to express solidarity with Israel, drew approximately 300 participants with the prominent presence of Indian Canadians alongside Jewish community members.
A series of videos uploaded by Daniel Bordman a pro-Israeli activist on X, shows Indian participants aggressively chanting “Jai Shri Ram” slogans in front of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The Indian dipaoras especially in Canada have previously participated in pro-Israeli demonstrations. Earlier in 2023, the Promeint Hindu Forum Canada joined forces with Canadian Jewish Organisations to stage a demonstration in Toronto in solidarity with Israel. The Forum mobilised the Indian community in Toronto to participate in the mega rally.
The wave of Indian diaspora’s support for Israeli military offence in war-torn Gaza where over 46,083 civilians among children and women lost their lives underscores a growing alignment of the diaspora with global right-wing movements.
India’s diplomatic shift
Such demonstrations come against the backdrop of India’s historical support for Palestine and its more recent foreign policy shift towards Israel. India has been a supporter of Palestine and demanded a two-state solution but the BJP governmental statements indicate a shift in its policy.
India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in the Parliament recently defended selling arms to Israel as in its national interest, a dramatic policy shift. This pragmatic approach is indicative of the strengthening relations between India and Israel in the defence and technology sectors but is distinctly opposed to India’s earlier support for Palestinian self-determination.
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