Discovering common ground with Jews

Even though India had issues recognizing Israel, there were
no
second thoughts about asking Israel for help during the wars with China
and Pakistan. Even when the
Palestinians
had no issues with India recognizing Israel, we chose to be more catholic
than the pope. Fortunately people outside the country are establishing close
relationship with the Jews and learning quite a bit from them.

Much of that synergy is happening in the Bay Area, where Hindus and Jews
have been coming together to network, talk politics, share dance steps and,
yes, get married. Hindu and Jewish groups estimate there are about 300,000
Jews and upward of 200,000 Hindus living in the Bay Area. Community leaders
acknowledge the two groups have a lot in common: a shared emphasis on
family, faith and education; homelands that are young democracies with a
history of foreign occupations; and, especially in the Bay Area, high
visibility in the tech industry.

But by far, they said, the strongest force behind the friendship has been
the growing ties between India and Israel — two countries with a history of
hostile relations with their Muslim neighbors.

They’ve also been willing to rally to one another’s side. When protesters
disrupted the first-ever Hindu prayer to open the Senate’s daily session in
July, Jews stood alongside Indians in decrying the incident. And when Bay
Area Jews face off against protesters in San Francisco calling for people
and businesses to dump their Israeli assets, they’re not alone.

“When we stand out there counter-protesting, we found that members of the
Hindu-American community always stand shoulder to shoulder with us,” said
Lisa Cohen, who has taken part in a number of rallies and protests. That
friendship, she added, is just going to get stronger. “They have been there
with us through thick and thin,” she said, “and the more I’m around them,
the more I find that we have so much in common.”
[Jews,
Hindus in Bay Area discover common ground]